NEW YORK - Oil fell more than 2 per cent for a third successive day of losses yesterday, tumbling in tandem with other risk assets as European bank and debt jitters and doubts over global growth haunted traders. While total trading volume was two-thirds below its norm due to the U.S. holiday, sellers showed little hesitation in knocking Brent crude to its lowest in six days after the worst ever reading for Chinese services sector growth added to anxiety fuelled by dismal U.S. jobs data. The continued closure of more than half the U.S. Gulf of Mexico's crude oil production for a third day offered no visible support to the complex, as companies slowly restored output after the passage of Tropical Storm Lee. "The background is one of poor economic growth and worries over demand. The euro is under a lot of pressure and equities have been weak all day," said Christopher Bellew, broker at Jefferies Bache in London. ICE Brent futures (LCOc1) for October fell $2.25 to $109.92 a barrel by 3:30 EDT (1930 GMT), nearing the 200-day moving average support line at $109.26. U.S. crude futures dropped $2.85 to $83.61 a barrel, putting the Brent WTI spread at what would be a record close of $26.31. Volume was predictably thin, with Brent crude at only about 40 per cent of its average and U.S. trading at 10 per cent. Oil was pulled lower by a drop in the euro, which pushed the U.S. dollar index up nearly 0.6 per cent, and a bank-led sell-off in European stocks that knocked the benchmark index down more than 4 per cent.

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