WorldWatch reports that Oil prices fell Thursday in Asia to $96 a barrel on concerns the deepening turmoil in the U.S. financial system will slow global economic growth and cut oil demand.

Light, sweet crude for October delivery to $96.13 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange midday in Singapore. Overnight, the previous two trading sessions crude dopped by $10.03 .

Oil jumped overnight as investors fled equities to crude as a short-term safe haven amid global market turmoil.

Oil is not viewed as safe haven as gold, but investors consider it safer than equities, if these financial troubles lead to a world recession however, that's going to affect demand big-time.

The Federal Reserve earlier on Wednesday had sought to calm investor fears by rescuing troubled insurer American International Group Inc. with an $85 billion bailout loan. The emergency measure came a day after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., a 158-year-old investment bank, filed for bankruptcy after failing to find a buyer.

Stepped up attacks by Nigerian militants against the country's oil infrastructure helped to support oil prices. In a fifth day of violence, Nigeria's main militant group said Wednesday that it had destroyed an oil-pumping station and a pipeline crossing southern Nigeria in a rare daylight attack.

A spokesman for Nigeria's state oil company said Wednesday that militant attacks are now cutting the country's daily oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, 40 percent of what the country produced before the militant campaign began three years ago.

WorldWatch see downward pressure on oil in the near-term, with the key support level at $90.

Also Wednesday, the U.S. government reported a bigger-than-expected drop in crude supplies, reflecting the shutdown of virtually all Gulf Coast oil production because of Hurricane Ike and Hurricane Gustav.

However the drop in crude prices does not reflect to the consumer in Portugal were BP,Galp and Repsol keep increasing final consumer prices...These inflated oil prices have the approval of the government .. and of course the higher the oil price the more revenue for the government...

Portugal this very moment has the most expensive final consumer price for gasoline in Europe and one of the highest in the world... BP filling stations are the most expensive .