NEW YORK, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices plummeted to below 70 U.S. dollars a barrel on Monday as investors were rattled by the sharp decline in China's equities market.

    Light, sweet crude for October delivery lost 2.78 dollars, or 3.8 percent, to settle at 69.96 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell to the intraday low of 69.13 dollars a barrel.

Global stock markets dropped broadly after China's Shanghai Composite Index dived almost 7 percent, spurring concerns about the pace of world economic recovery.

    Oil prices have found support from optimism that a potential turnaround in the economy could boost flagging fuel consumption, which sent the futures up to a fresh ten-month high of 75 dollars a barrel. However, oil failed to break the 75-dollar psychological barrier and fell back to around 70 dollars a barrel as investors were worried that the market might have gotten too far ahead of the economy.

    In London, Brent Crude for October delivery tumbled 3.52 dollars, or 4.8 percent, to 69.27 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.