Oil prices today dropped below $77 a barrel ahead of the US Thanksgiving holiday, due to a 1% fall in equities.

Liquidation of positions in the last minute before the weekend also triggered a drop in oil prices, according to Reuters.

For January delivery, US crude oil fell by 98 cents to $76.98 a barrel at 8:07am GMT, while London Brent crude dropped by 77 cents to $77.67.

Oil prices have more than doubled compared with the $33 price last December, but current prices still remain 47% less than the $147 record price posted in July 2008.