By Laura Mandaro, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Oil futures sank 3% Monday, wading further into the red as Wall Street opened deeply to the downside on worries about an imminent Greek default.
Oil for December delivery CL1V -3.18% fell $2.68, or 3.02%, to $85.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Oil futures had traded lower, but in a range between $86 and $87.75, in Asian and European trading as investors reacted to reports that euro-zone finance ministers meeting late last week delayed a decision to release Greece’s next round of aid. Greece is likely to run out of cash within weeks without the aid. Read more on Greece.
“All in all, if the markets were looking for a positive, meaningful surprise from the two days of talks going on in Europe, they did not get it,” wrote analysts at MF Global in emailed comments.
U.S. stocks opened in the red and were recently down close to 2%, on track to halt five straight days of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -2.00% fell 241 points, or 2.1%, to 11,267. For oil, U.S. stocks have recently been acting as a barometer of investors’ perception of global economic growth.
The dollar rose, with the dollar index DXY +1.19% gaining 1.1% to 77.39.
“Concerns about a slowdown of demand and a firmer US dollar are weighing on prices,” wrote analysts at Commerzbank.
