The benchmark index of the Toronto Stock Exchange plunged more than 3% on Tuesday as oil prices fell on fading concerns over the impact from Hurricane Gustav on the U.S. oil industry.

The S&P/TSX composite index tumbled 471.51 points, or 3.42%, to end at 13,299.74.

The TSX energy sector led the decline, off 5.75%.

U.S. crude settled down US$5.75 to US$109.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Traders pushed oil lower after it became clear that Hurricane Gustav didn’t damage key oil and gas refineries in the Gulf Coast over the weekend.

In Toronto, Suncor Energy Inc. was off 8.8%, Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. fell 5.8%. In the materials subindex, off 5.5%, Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. was down 6.3%, while Goldcorp Inc. was off 6.8%.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index dropped 53.92 points, or 2.72%, to 1,923.72.

The Canadian dollar fell 0.58 of a cent to close at US93.58¢, one day before the Bank of Canada’s interest rate decision.

Most economists believe the central bank will leave borrowing costs untouched at 3%. But a minority says the bank should actually stimulate the economy by cutting interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point.

In New York, U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday, as a steep decline in the price of oil and other commodities hammered energy and materials companies while tech shares fell amid jitters a global economic slowdown would crimp technology spending.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 26.63 points, or 0.23%, to 11,516.92. The S&P 500 dropped 5.26 points, or 0.41%, to 1,277.57. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell18.28 points, or 0.77%, to 2,349.24.