Oil slides below US$46 on stronger USD, economic concern [CFP]

Crude oil tumbled nearly 9 percent to below US$46 on Monday as the dollar strengthened and investors grew more concerned about the economic recovery.

Light, sweet crude for May delivery dropped US$4.45, or 8. 8 percent, to settle at US$45.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The dollar hit a one-month high against a basket of currencies on Monday, which pressured the oil market and sent the crude futures nosediving.

Meanwhile, a sharp drop in the US equity market also dampened investors' sentiment. Major indexes halted a six-week gaining streak and lost more than 3 percent on Monday as worries about the banks' troubled loans resurfaced.

Also on Monday the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said that the agency will cut global economic forecasts in the coming week. Strauss-Kahn said that he expected a recovery to start in the first half of next year.

In London, Brent crude for June delivery fell US$3.49 to settle at US$49.86 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.

(Xinhua News Agency April 21, 2009)