Oil slid on concern the European debt crisis is worsening and on speculation that the biggest gain in more than a month was excessive.

Crude dropped as much as 0.8 percent after Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti warned of a potential breakup of Europe without greater urgency in efforts to lower government borrowing costs. Oil surged on Aug. 3 as a government report showed U.S. payrolls climbed more than estimated.

Oil for September delivery slid 66 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $90.74 a barrel at 9:15 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rallied 4.9 percent on Aug. 3, the biggest gain since June 29. Prices are 8.2 percent lower this year.

Brent crude for September settlement fell 87 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $108.07 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Gold prices rose on Monday, extending the last session’s recovery from four days of declines, as investors bet that Friday’s better-than-expected jobs data would not be enough to head off another round of monetary easing in the United States.

The precious metal briefly dipped in the wake of data showing US employers added more jobs than expected last month, but quickly rebounded as traders digested a rise in the jobless rate to 8.3%.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve may have to unleash another round of quantitative easing — essentially, printing money — to boost US growth has firmly underpinned gold prices this year.

Further monetary easing would maintain pressure on long-term interest rates, keeping the opportunity cost of holding gold at rock bottom, as well as weighing on the dollar and boosting inflation expectations in the longer run.

US gold futures for December delivery were up $1.90 an ounce at $1611.20.