Traders work in the oil options pit of the New York Mercantile Exchange March 11, 2008. Crude oil shed 4.53 dollars a barrel on Monday, the biggest daily loss in more than 17 years.(Xinhua/Reuters file photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    NEW YORK, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Crude oil shed 4.53 dollars a barrel on Monday, the biggest daily loss in more than 17 years, after hitting a record high of 111.80 dollars a barrel, falling back on fresh concerns about the credit crisis and the U.S. economy.

    Crude oil for April delivery tumbled 6.98 dollars to an intraday low of 103.23 dollars a barrel in mid-afternoon trading. It closed at 105.68 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 4.1 percent, or 4.53 dollars, the biggest decline since early 1991.

    Crude earlier rose and almost hit 112 dollars as the dollar fell to a new low against the euro.

    Oil prices seesawed wildly Monday as bearish investors fled for the exits after a surprise Fed decision to aid Wall Street banks over the weekend.

    The swings also came as the Federal Reserve made an inter-meeting cut in the discount rate over the weekend and as worries on the credit crisis were intensified after J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. said it was buying Bear Stearns for 2 dollars a share.

    On the economic side, U.S. industrial production took a bigger-than-expected decline in February, falling by 0.5 percent as output dropped sharply at utilities, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.