Oil prices fell on Monday, as fears for the eurozone debt crisis continued to blight the market.
Brent crude declined to $111 at one point in morning trading, while WTI crude slipped to $86.75.
Ongoing concern that Greece could default on its debt situation was proving a thorn in the side for markets, with oil bearing the brunt of the downturn.
John Meyer, analyst at Fairfax, said: "We do not like to encourage gambling but what are the odds that Greece, a country raked by political infighting and plagued with public strikes, has been able to pull things together enough to reach eligibility to receive its sixth tranche of loans?"
The growing jitters comes after a meeting of European Union finance ministers last week failed to announce any new immediate measures to help abate the problem, leading traders to question how long it would take to tackle.
"With the sovereign debt crisis persisting, we anticipate further falls in Eurozone confidence indicators," Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a note.
In turn, the oil market has also had to grapple with speculation that fuel demand will falter as economic growth in the US slows.
OPEC secretary-general Abdalla El-Badri said he sees a slowdown in global oil demand this year and next as a result of the weakening global economy. Speaking at an event in Dubai, El-Badri said he was surprised that crude oil prices were holding above the $100 mark.
It follows last week's decision by the International Energy Agency to cut its forecast for oil demand in 2011 and 2012 because of the slowing economy. Furthermore, oil production in Libya could soon rise to 500,000-600,000 barrels per day.
Gold regains its lustre
But while oil prices are in the firing line, fellow commodity gold has regained its shine. The precious metal has settled above the $1,800 an ounce mark once again, after temporarily sliding below this level last week.
"We believe gold should be well supported in the current market climate and should have considerable upside potential. The eurozone debt crisis especially and discussions on Greece's possible default should keep investors' needs for safety high and gold should therefore remain in strong demand," said analysts at Commerzbank.
HSBC has raised its 2012 average price forecast to $2,025 from an earlier $1,625 and its 2013 target to $1,850 from $1,550, citing the eurozone debt crisis, currency wars and a deep uncertainty among investors.
It follows a quarterly gold survey from precious metals consultancy GFMS last week, in which it said it expected prices to hit $2,000 before the year is out.
