Oil prices fell Monday as uncertainty about the prospects for global growth and a stronger U.S. dollar overcame worries about production disruptions in the Gulf of Mexico during hurricane season.

Crude for October delivery closed down 72 cents at $73.10 US a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while in Toronto, the S&P TSX energy index of oil and gas companies ended down by .03 of a point to 270.50.

S&P/TSX energy index 3-month chart.

The Canadian dollar closed down .32 of a cent to 95.03 U.S.

Crude prices rose earlier Monday amid concerns that tropical storm Danielle is strengthening in the Atlantic. Late Tuesday, the storm was upgraded to a hurricane and forecasters predicted it would become a major one over the next few days.

Danielle was 2,120 kilometers east of the Lesser Antilles islands. That's far from land, about halfway between Africa and the Caribbean, and whether it would enter the oil production area in the Gulf of Mexico was not clear.

Victor Shum, an energy analyst at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore, predicted crude prices will stay at around $75 US a barrel in the near term, with a floor provided by production concerns amid the hurricane season.

While there have been predictions of relatively strong hurricanes this year, the forecasts have yet to be fully realized.

"Despite this sluggish start, we suspect weather should lend an element of support to prices at least through September, but the market is in danger of breaking down if the hurricane tally remains minimal by September's end," said a report from MF Global in New York.

Government measures to cool the Chinese economy — usually predicted as the main source of increased energy use — were also seen as limiting oil prices.

"The rise in demand in China will remain disappointing in the months ahead," said analysts at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.

"This supports our skeptical view on oil prices and we still anticipate a fall in prices to around $70 a barrel by the end of the year.

With files from The Associated Press