London: US oil prices fell below $70 a barrel on Monday to their lowest in over three months, extending a loss of more than 18 percent so far in May on concerns over Europe's debts, the weak euro and swollen US oil inventories.
The euro sank to four-year lows as Europe's debt crisis led investors to pull more money from stocks in favour of havens such as gold and Asian bonds. Base metals slid to three-month lows as investors shunned riskier assets and on doubts over the prospects for growth.
US crude for June delivery fell more than $1 to a low of $69.82 a barrel, its weakest since Feb. 5. It was trading at $70.30 by 0809 GMT, down $1.31.
So far in May, the US crude contract has lost around 18.5 percent, its biggest monthly drop since November 2008. The contract is expected to face volatility ahead of Monday's June crude options expiry and the May 20 June crude contract expiry.
Stockpiles of crude at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery hub for the US contract's West Texas Intermediate benchmark crude, have risen in the last eight weeks to a record high 37 million barrels, pushing front-month US crude down relative to later futures contracts and the other global crude benchmark, Brent.
