•ICE Brent and NYMEX crude futures fell to either side of the $100/barrel level Thursday, continuing the extreme liquidation seen Monday and Wednesday as a surge in the US dollar and economic concerns spooked the market. "All commodities were severely in the red," Petromatrix analysts wrote in a report Thursday. "We would expect to see some further across the board profit taking, especially if the Dollar Index manages to make further gains."

•On Wednesday, the energy complex had collapsed once again, with crude losing nearly $5, the largest fall (in dollar terms) since the Gulf War in January 1991 and surpassing Monday's $4.53 drop.

•The collapse came as the US stock data was released by the Energy Information Administration which upon initial viewing was bullish. However, upon further digestion of the data, the sluggish demand figures seemed to push traders into a selling spree.

Updated: March 20, 2008