Crude edges down for the fourth straight day

London: Oil edged down yesterday for the fourth straight day, relinquishing earlier gains, as fresh concerns about weaker demand in top oil consumer the United States tempted some players to cash in.

US crude was down 66 cents to $100.20 a barrel by 1440 GMT, off the day's high of $101.60, and sharply down from a record high of $111.80 touched on March 17.

London Brent crude fell two cents at $99.84 a barrel.

"Sentiment is likely to turn sour again and the latest US consumer confidence data is not encouraging news," said Harry Tchilinguirian, analyst at BNP Paribas.

Data out of the United States showed consumer confidence sinking to a five-year low in March, rekindling uncertainty about the health of the US economy and hitting the dollar and Wall Street.

A recovery in the dollar from recent lows against the euro ahead of the Easter break had helped push oil prices down late last week and on Monday, as it pressured its nominal price.

"The question is how bad the US economy is going to be. So the tendency for the time being is to back off after people took profit from last week's highs," Tony Nunan, risk management executive at Tokyo-based Mitsubishi, said.