LONDON, April 1, 2008 (AFP) - World oil prices slid under 100 dollars per barrel on Tuesday, extending recent sharp losses on mounting concerns that slowing global growth could dampen energy demand, traders said.

New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, lost 72 cents to reach 100.88 dollars per barrel after earlier touching as low as 99.55.

London's Brent North Sea crude for May fell 39 cents to 99.91 dollars per barrel on Tuesday. It earlier tumbled as low as 98.99.

On Monday, New York crude had slumped by 4.04 dollars and London Brent had dived by 3.47 dollars.

'Market participants still remain concerned over slowing fuel demand in the US, with figures last week showing US oil demand over the last four weeks averaging around 2.2 percent lower than one year ago,' said Sucden analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov.

'It seems that consumers are starting to feel record high gasoline (petrol) prices and refineries are cutting down on their production due to slipping profit margins.'

Crude oil prices have fallen since Friday when the US government confirmed that the world's largest economy grew by a tepid 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter last year.

Economic momentum slowed despite the US Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts. Since September, Fed policymakers have slashed the short-term federal funds rate to 2.25 percent from 5.25 percent in a bid to shore up growth.

'Oil pricing has pulled back due to profit taking at the end of the first quarter' on Monday, said Victor Shum, senior principal at Purvin and Gertz energy consultancy in Singapore.

'Market sentiment has turned bearish given the latest data out of the US, which showed softening demand,' he added.

Shum said the market was expecting a 'downside potential' in demand leading up to the peak summer driving season in the United States but added that 'oil pricing would not collapse due to stronger demand growth in non-OECD countries.'

He was referring to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, which comprises major industrialised nations.

Crude prices have also been weighed down by easing of unrest in the oil-rich southern region of Iraq. An attack on a key Iraqi oil pipeline last week had sparked oil price spike.

'Recent volatile price action in oil reflects well its underlying fundamental tightness, with markets proving highly sensitive to the flow of information on the geopolitical front,' added Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.

Amid global supply disruptions, New York crude hit a record intraday high of 111.80 dollars on March 17 while London Brent scored a historic peak of 108.02 dollars earlier in March.