Crude futures fell more than 5% Monday to below $50 a barrel on rekindled concerns that a slow recovery in global growth will continue to weigh on energy demand. Analysts said energy prices also were coming under pressure over investor worries about the auto industry, with fresh turmoil buffeting General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for May delivery dropped $2.83, or 5.4%, to $49.55 a barrel. Earlier, the contract hit an intraday low of $49.36 a barrel. On Wall Street, U.S. stocks fell sharply, retreating after the White House said bankruptcy was a possibility for GM and Chrysler, while hopes for a new round of stimulus spending appear thwarted. "Oil is trading lower today due to the shocking news out of the auto industry and the implications for demand if GM and/or Chrysler fall within the next 60 days," said Zachary Oxman of TrendMax Futures. "I think the market sees that this recession is nowhere near over." The White House, which forced the ouster of GM chief Rick Wagoner, said a structured bankruptcy plan for the two automakers could give them their "best chance at success." Meantime, the financial markets are weighing the outlook for an international coordinated assault on the worldwide recession. Leaders of the world's 20 largest industrialized and developing economies will meet later this week in London. Leaks of drafts of the meeting's final communiqués and remarks by politicians, including President Barack Obama, indicated that a push by the United States and Britain for a further round of global stimulus stimulus seem unlikely to bear fruit. Read more on G20. Instead, the meeting is expected to produce strong language pledging to avoid protectionism, restore growth and reform financial markets and institutions. Expectations for a slow recovery in the global economy tend to weigh on energy prices because consumer and industrial demand is hampered. Also applying pressure was strength in the dollar. The dollar index , a measure of the greenback against a trade-weighted basket of rival currencies, rose to 85.918 from 85.138 late Friday. See Currencies. "Clearly the price is reacting to the stronger dollar and the news about GM," said James Williams, an economist at energy research firm WTRG Economics. "There is little, if any, fundamental data that justifies the price increases over the last few weeks." Oil ended last week's trading up for a sixth straight week. Also in Monday's Nymex action, April reformulated gasoline fell 5 cents to $1.44 a gallon and April heating oil dropped 4 cents to $1.40 a gallon. Natural gas for April delivery gave up 1 cent to stand at $3.94 per million British thermal units.

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