Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah said Tuesday his country had no plans to cut his country's oil output as the price of oil fell to fresh five-and-a-half-year lows, exacerbating worries about a supply glut.

In a speech that was read for him by Saudi Crown Prince Salman, Abdullah said the world's largest oil-producing state would confront lower oil prices "with a firm will," but gave no indication of a change in policy.

"This development is not new in the oil market, and the kingdom has in the past dealt with it firmly and wisely," he said.

Ninety-year-old King Abdullah was hospitalized on Dec. 31 and has since been diagnosed with pneumonia, breathing with the aid of an air tube.

The announcement added to a bearish global sentiment that had been compounded by weekend data showing oil output from Russia reaching a post-Soviet-era high. Output in December from OPEC's second-largest producer, Iraq, also reached its highest levels since 1980.

The slump in the price of oil has deepened as the supply glut shows no sign of slowing. Brent crude dipped to $51.23 (43.00 euros) a barrel on Tuesday. By midday, it had recovered to $51.96 but was still down $1.15 on the day.

A barrel of US crude was selling for $48.94, the second day it had fallen below the psychological $50 mark. That price was down $1.10 from yesterday, after falling as low as $48.47, its lowest level since April 2009.

Many expect other major oil-exporting states, such as Iraq, Iran and Kuwait, to also slash their official selling prices in the near future. Saudi Arabia already cut its prices to Europe on Monday, and the United Arab Emirates did so on Tuesday.

The falling price of oil has been tied to several factors, including unease over the health of the Greek economy and speculation that its place in the eurozone could be in jeopardy, as well as high oil output from the US - where the production of shale gas is booming - and Russia and Iraq.

cjc/sgb (Reuters, AFP, AP)