Crude oil tumbled to a five-month low Tuesday as traders shifted their concern from Hurricane Gustav to dampening global demand.
Light, sweet crude for October delivery dropped 5.75 dollars to settle at 109.71 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Price plunged 10 dollars to hit 105.46 dollars a barrel in the early morning trading, the lowest point since April 4.
As Hurricane Gustav appeared to leave the Gulf of Mexico and producers prepared to restart oil production, traders now focus more on the slowing global economic growth, speculating the world market demand for crude would continue to fall.
Meanwhile, the dollar gained against the euro Tuesday, which also helped to bring down the oil prices.
In London, Brent crude for October delivery fell 1.07 dollars to settle at 108.34 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Crude futures have shed more than 25 percent since the all-time peak of 147.27 dollars a barrel reached on July 11.
On August 26, the U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration Chief Guy Caruso predicted that crude oil price "could" fall below 100 dollars a barrel in the next 18 months due to a slowing global demand and an increase in oil production.
Source: Xinhua
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