NEW YORK: Oil plunged US$4 (US$1 = RM3.45) yesterday as investors fled to safer havens due to turmoil in the US financial system and on early signs Hurricane Ike had spared key US energy infrastructure.Lehman Brothers' filing for bankruptcy protection and Bank of America's agreement to buy Merrill Lynch stirred concerns that mounting global economic problems would slow energy demand further, sending investors out of oil.US crude dropped US$4.36 to US$96.82 barrel at 1630 GMT, after hitting a seven-month low of US$94.13 earlier, extending a 34 per cent slide from peaks in mid-July amid mounting evidence of slowing fuel demand.London Brent crude fell US$4.77 to US$92.81 a barrel, after earlier hitting US$91.17 a barrel - the lowest level since February.
Oil companies rushed to check damage to their facilities after Hurricane Ike struck the heart of the US energy industry near Houston on Saturday, leaving a quarter of the nation's oil and refined fuel production idled.Early indications showed no major damage to energy infrastructure, though several Texas refineries remained without power. The US Department of Energy said plants suffered minimal damage and were preparing to restart."The sell-off is partly because Hurricane Ike hasn't done any significant structural damage to the oil facilities, as well as growing concerns about the economy," said David Moore, a commodities strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia. - Reuters
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