Brent crude, the global benchmark grade, rallied after its first decline below $50 a barrel since May 2009. The price traded at $51.40 a barrel at 10:43 a.m. on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London , having earlier dropped to $49.66. West Texas Intermediate, the main U.S. grade, also erased an earlier decline. To contact the reporter on this story: Rupert Rowling in London at [email protected] To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alaric Nightingale at [email protected] Grant Smith