NEW YORK, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Crude futures tumbled below 49 U.S. dollars a barrel on Monday as plunging stocks market and strengthening dollar let off the steam of oil's rally last week.

    Light, sweet crude for May delivery fell 3.97 dollars, or more than 7.6 percent, to settle at 48.41 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures dropped to as low as 48.11 dollars earlier in the session.

    Despite a build up in the stockpiles, crude oil staged a strong rally earlier this month supported by a recovery in U.S. stocks indicators. But Wall Street lost ground on Monday after the White House rejected the turnaround plans from General Motors Corp. and Chrysler.

    Meanwhile, the dollar strengthened against the euro for a third day as investors speculated that the European Central Bank will cut interest rates to the lowest since the euro's introduction in 1999. A strong dollar usually limits investors' appeal for commodities like crude as hedge against inflation.

    In London, Brent crude fell 3.19 dollars to settle at 47.99 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.