SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices plummeted to a one-year low below $83 a barrel today in Asia as investor fears of a severe global economic downturn sparked a panicked sell-off of equities and crude.

Light, sweet crude for November delivery was down $4.00 to $82.59 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midafternoon in Singapore, the lowest since October 2007. The contract fell $1.81 Thursday to settle at $86.62.

One analyst says "the whole market has lost confidence in everything."

Oil investors even ignored signs that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries may cut production. OPEC says it will hold an extraordinary meeting Nov. 18 to discuss how the widening global financial crisis is affecting oil prices.