Share Tips: SINGAPORE/LONDON: Oil prices tumbled 5% early on Monday after a meeting by major producers in Qatar fell apart the day before, leaving the world awash with undesirable fuel.

International benchmark Brent crude futures were trading at $40.86 per barrel at 0029 GMT, down 5.2% since their last settlement.

U.S. crude futures were down 5.7% at 38.06 Dollar a barrel.

Some 18 oil exporting nations, including non-OPEC Russia, had gathered in the Qatari capital of Doha for what was predicted to be the rubber-stamping of a deal to stabilize output at January levels until October 2016.

But the contract fell apart after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude Cost.

“The failure is negative from the psychological point of view. It shows the inability of all sides to concur,” said Gary Ross, the founder and executive chairman at New York-based consultancy PIRA.

The development will revive industry fears that main producers are embarking again on a battle for market share in a world already awash with undesirable oil, especially after Riyadh threatened to raise output steeply if no freeze deal were reached.

Barclays said in a note to consumer that “the much-awaited meeting exposed the political rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran, and ultimately doomed the contract.”

As a result Brent would likely average $36 per barrel during the second quarter of this year as a universal glut continued unabated, it said.

“This meeting and its outcome should have built confidence that the oil market re-balancing was end at hand, as well as building a circle of trust among producers for possible future co-operation and co-ordinates action. In this regard, the meeting was a complete failure,” Barclays added.