Crude prices were hammered on Monday as investors lost confidence in the deteriorating global economy.

The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.6 percent in January, better than the 0.4 percent gain that economists had expected. However, the increase is expected to be fleeting given all the problems facing the economy.

The Institute for Supply Management said the United States' manufacturing sector contracted for the 13th straight month in February.

Iran's Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Sunday that OPEC, which has already slashed more than 4 million barrels in daily production, doesn't plan to introduce new production cuts at its next meeting on March 15.

Crude is also latching on to the stock markets as the Dow Jones industrials dropped below 6,900 for the first time in about 12 years.

Light, sweet crude for April delivery fell US$4.61 to settle at US$40.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In London, Brent crude fell US$4.14, or about 9 percent, to US$42.21 on the ICE Futures exchange.

(Xinhua News Agency March 3, 2009)