Crude oil futures end at $91 level, lowest in 7 months.

NEW YORK, Sept. 16 Kyodo

Crude oil futures continued to fall in New York on Tuesday with the key contract slipping to the $91 level per barrel, the lowest since early February.

The October contract for West Texas Intermediate crude oil ended

$4.56 lower from Monday at $91.15 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reflecting expectations of stable supply.

Selling overwhelmed buying as traders expect oil demand to decline in view of global economic deceleration.

Traders also unloaded oil futures as fears of financial turmoil increased in the wake of the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

Crude oil futures have fallen lately, reflecting expectations that global demand will slow down in the wake of economic deceleration in Japan, the United States and Europe.

The benchmark contract climbed above $100 for the first time in early January and reached an all-time high of $147.27 on July 11. It has since come under pressure, declining by nearly 40 percent in the past two months.