In Asian Trade oil falls below $105

Oil prices tumbled below $105 a barrel in Asian trade Tuesday as US dollar continued to gain strength amid expectations that OPEC will not cut output when it meets later this day.

US crude for October delivery was down $1.39 a barrel at $104.95 by 3.30 IST, after briefly falling more than $2 to touch a new five-month low of $104.23 a barrel.

Oil is under pressure despite the potential threat from Hurricane Ike, which is headed towards the US Gulf and offshore oil fields that produce a quarter of US oil and 15 percent of its natural gas.
London Brent crude was $1.41 down at $102.03 a barrel, closing in on the $100 mark. The dollar's rise to a one-year peak against a basket of currencies has spurred a shift away from commodities that has driven down prices across the spectrum.

Oil has fallen nearly 30 percent from a record peak of $147.27 a barrel on July 11, depressed partly by a fall in demand from the world's top energy consumer the United States, where the economy is battling to ward off recession.
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