U.S. crude oil price fell on Monday as the dollar strengthened and European weak data caused recession worry. Industrial production in the euro zone fell 2.0 percent in September, the most since early 2009, according to data from the European Union\'s statistics office. This added to recession fears in the 17-country bloc, intending to hurt oil demand. And the debt crisis, which had driven crude prices ups and downs for months, continued to weigh on markets. Italy\'s five-year government bond yield surged to euro-era high on Monday even though Mario Monti, the former European Commissioner became the new leader for the debt-burdened country. This indicated lack of confidence in Italy\'s creditability. In Greece, new Prime Minister Lucas Papademos will face confidence vote in his cabinet on Wednesday. Uncertainties about Athens\' future continued. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that Europe was facing \" the toughest time since World War II\", advocating a deepening political union in euro zone. The euro got pressured by the weak data and lingering debt concerns and slipped sharply by 1.3 percent against the dollar. The dollar index, as a result, rose 0.7 percent. A strengthening greenback pushed down dollar-denominated crude. Light, sweet crude for Dec. delivery dropped 85 cents, or 0.86 percent to settle at 98.14 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for Dec. delivery slipped 2.27 dollars, or 1.99 percent to close at 111.89 dollars a barrel.