Crude prices fell Monday on demand worries caused by European debt woes and U.S. stuck debt ceiling talks.
After the plunge caused by the weak payroll data Friday, crude prices continued falling as investors remained cautious about the future demand.
European finance ministers' meeting later Monday draw attention as Greece still struggled to avoid a debt default, the EU third- largest economy Italy also fell into debt trap. Growing fears of debt contagion to Italy frustrated the crude investors.
And the euro fell about 1.35 percent, the dollar index rose over 1 percent. An expensive dollar pressured the dollar-priced oil.
Meanwhile, in the biggest oil consumption country, the debt ceiling talks between President Barack Obama and the Republicans over the weekend came to end without any agreement, which also weighed on the markets.
The markets was also pressured by the data in China, where the inflation rate accelerated to a three-year high in June. Analysts said this would trigger further tightening monetary policy, which would pose risk to economic growth. According to a separate report, China's crude oil imports fell 8.6 percent in June, and 11.5 percent year-on-year.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 1.05 dollars, or 1. 09 percent to settle at 95.15 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for August delivery also dropped 1.09 dollars, or 0.92 percent to close at 117.24 dollars a barrel.
