* Pressure mounts on Goldman from near and far
* U.S. dollar rises as investors seek safe-haven investments
* Asian stocks fall on fading risk appetite
* Pressure builds to get Europe flying again
* For technical outlook, click [
] (Updates prices, analyst comments)By Fayen Wong
PERTH, April 19 (Reuters) - Oil prices sank to a 3-week low of below $82 a barrel on Monday, extending the previous session's fall of 2.7 percent, as risk appetite soured across the board after investment bank Goldman Sachs <GS.N> was charged with fraud.
Goldman was charged by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its marketing of a subprime mortgage product. The news dragged down broad U.S. equity indexes. [
]The banking powerhouse also saw pressure building on both sides of the Atlantic on Sunday, with Germany and Britain saying they would seek details from the SEC about Goldman's activities as a prelude to potential legal steps following a U.S.-led fraud investigation. [
]U.S. crude for May delivery <CLc1> fell $1.34 to $81.81 by 0622 GMT, after having dropped as low as $81.73 -- the lowest since March 29. The contract already fell 2.65 percent on Friday, the largest one-day percentage loss since Feb. 5.
London Brent crude <LCOc1> fell $1.1 to $84.89.
"Oil prices have been rising very strongly but there has been a lot of skepticism on whether the rally can last because the fundamentals are still very weak," said Clarence Chu, a crude oil trader at Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore.
"The market was ripe for profit-taking and the Goldman news was the trigger."
Industry participants said another rationale for the sell-off was that Goldman, which has large positions across many markets including commodities, could be forced to liquidate some of its investments in the energy market if ordered to pay a hefty fine by the SEC.
Goldman has vowed to defend itself.
For more on the Goldman fraud charges, see [
]The fraud charges, along with disappointing earnings from heavyweights and a surprise drop in U.S. consumer sentiment on Friday, gave investors an opportunity to take profits from the equities markets and pushed Asian stocks 1.6 percent. [
]Tepid risk appetite also prompted the U.S. dollar to rise, stretching gains in Asian trade on media reports that a wave of lawsuits was being planned against Goldman Sachs. [
]London's Times newspaper reported on Monday that lawyers spent the weekend hunting for investors who lost money to join a potential action against the bank.
Analysts also pointed to the halt of flights to Europe as adding further downward pressure to oil prices, as 5-day-old air travel crisis could hit jet fuel demand. [
]Oil prices have risen strongly in recent weeks, topping an 18-month high of above $87 earlier this month, as robust economic data buoyed hopes of a demand recovery.
But some analysts have said that prices have run ahead of demand fundamentals, while a senior analyst at the International Energy Agency said on Friday that oil prices at $85 per barrel could endanger the fragile global economic recovery. [
]On the geopolitical front, markets may keep an eye on Iran on Monday after Pentagon officials said U.S. President Barack Obama's national security advisers are considering a range of options to curb Iran's nuclear programme, among them military strikes, if diplomacy and sanctions fail. [
] (Editing by Clarence Fernandez)