Oil touched a six-month low on Friday afternoon as stocks around the globe closed in on their biggest drop in two weeks.

Benchmark Brent crude oil fell below $60 for the first time since March after entering a bear market on Thursday.

Data from China added to the downward pressure on global stocks, showing factory-gate inflation slowed for the fourth month in October on cooling domestic demand and manufacturing activity.

Producer prices rose more than expected in the U.S. in October and at their fastest pace in six years. But measures of underlying price pressure cooled, bolstering the view that the Federal Reserve is not facing a resurgence in inflation.

Equities snapped a streak of seven straight days of gains on Thursday after the Fed held interest rates steady but appeared to remain on track to raise its key interest rate next month.

Some investors had hoped that the sharp share price falls during what has been called "Red October" might have encouraged the central bank to take a more dovish approach toward monetary policy.

The dollar, which had weakened sharply after Tuesday's midterms, was up for a second straight day and on track for a fourth straight week of gains.

Oil prices fell to multi-month lows as global supply increased and investors worried about the possibility of slowing fuel demand, putting U.S. crude on track for the longest stretch of daily declines since 1984.