Crude oil closed below US$100 for the first time since February yesterday as the US financial turmoil sparked concerns about demand and Hurricane Ike spared the Gulf refineries.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery tumbled US$5.47 to settle at US$95.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). Prices made a landslide of US$7.05 to US$94.13 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 US fourth largest bank Lehman filed for bankruptcy and its rival Merrill Lynch reached a deal of US$44 billion to sell itself to Bank of America. Moreover, top US 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 US$99.99 a barrel last Friday, the first time since early April. Crude oil has lost 36 percent from its record US$147.27 a barrel, which has made oil prices virtually unchanged this year.