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Crude oil closed below 100 U.S. dollars for the first time since February on Monday as the U.S. financial turmoil sparked concerns about demand and Hurricane Ike spared the Gulf refineries.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery tumbled 5.47 dollars to settle at 95.71 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Prices made a landslide of 7.05 dollars to 94.13dollars a barrel in the early morning pre-session electronic trading.
"Earthquake" in the Wall Street during the weekend has made the traders concern about the oil demand as the economy condition gets more worrying.
The U.S. fourth largest bank Lehman filed for bankruptcy and its rival Merrill Lynch reached a deal of 44 billion dollars to sell itself to Bank of America. Moreover, top U.S. insurer American International Group struggled to seek capital. New York stocks plunged amid new Wall Street landscape with Dow Jones lost over 400 points in the afternoon trading.
Meanwhile, Hurricane Ike has left the refineries along the Texas coast without major damage. The International Energy Agency said it would release strategic oil reserve if necessary. The news helped ease pressure from oil prices.
NYMEX oil futures briefly touched 99.99 dollars a barrel last Friday, the first time since early April. Crude oil has lost 36 percent from its record 147.27 dollars a barrel, which has made oil prices virtually unchanged this year. 　
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