Oil handed back early gains to fall for the fourth straight day today as fresh concerns about weaker demand in top oil consumer the United States tempted some players to cash in.
US crude fell 93 cents to $99.93 a barrel by 2.17pm, off the day's high of $101.60 and sharply down from a record high of $111.80 touched on March 17th.
London Brent crude was down 17 cents at $99.69 a barrel.
Data out of the United States showed consumer confidence sinking to a five-year low in March, rekindling uncertainty about the health of the US economy and hitting the dollar and Wall Street.
Other commodities, however, held up. Gold rebounded too after the dollar resumed its downward trend.
A recovery in the dollar from recent lows against the euro ahead of the Easter break had helped pushed oil prices down late last week and on Monday, as it pressured its nominal price.
But underlying concerns about US demand remained.
Oil has dropped more than $10 from last week's record as investors have fled commodities on a view that gains had been overdone.
A slowdown in the US economy, combined with a seasonal fall in demand in the second quarter, may drive oil prices below the $100 mark for the coming weeks, analysts said.