Crude futures dropped sharply to below 129 U.S. dollars a barrel Tuesday as the demand concern began to weigh on the market.
Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled at 128.85 dollars a barrel, trading down 3.34 dollars, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. And the price continued to fall as low as 128.18 dollars a barrel in the after-hour electronic trading. A series of supply warnings sent oil prices skyrocketing to an all-time high of 135.09 dollars a barrel on Thursday.
Speculative traders were heavy sellers Tuesday, cashing in profits from last week's oil price rally. Some analysts believed that investors pulled back on the concern that the soaring oil and gas prices have hurt demand for fuel during the normally busy summer driving season.
A rising dollar, which gained ground against the euro on Tuesday, also contributed to the fall of oil prices.
In London, Brent crude futures for July delivery fell 4.06 dollars to settle at 128.31 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange.
Source:Xinhua
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