Benchmark crude for June delivery was down 50 cents to $96.87 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.28 to settle at $97.37 on Monday.
In London, Brent crude for June delivery was down 34 cents to $110.50 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
Crude has fallen about 16 percent from near $115 on May 2 as traders fret high fuel costs and tepid economic growth will hurt U.S. consumption. Crude surged 35 percent between February and the beginning of this month.
On Monday, traders shrugged off a weaker dollar, which makes crude cheaper for investors with other currencies and usually helps push oil prices higher.
Analysts are also eyeing the end next month of a Federal Reserve program to purchase treasury bonds, known as quantitative easing. It has helped boost money supply and asset prices while also weakening the dollar.
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"The end of quantitative easing is the sea-change beneath the broader moves" in the oil price, Cameron Hanover said in a report.
In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil fell 0.7 cent to $2.87 a gallon and gasoline dropped 2.0 cents to $2.91 a gallon. Natural gas futures slid 1 cent to $4.31 per 1,000 cubic feet.
[Associated
Press; By ALEX KENNEDY]
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