Oil Drops $5 to $136 a Barrel; Declines $9 in Two Trading Days
Oil prices fell more than $5 Tuesday to close near $136 a barrel, as the U.S. dollar continued to strengthen and fears of a supply shortage faded, the Associated Press reported.
Crude closed at $136.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, AP said, following Monday’s plunge of nearly $4, putting the two-day decline at $9.25.
Oil hit an overall record of $145.85 a barrel Thursday before finishing the trading session at record closing price of $145.29. There was no Nymex trading on Friday due to the July 4 holiday.
Analysts attributed the lower prices to investor profit-taking and a stronger U.S. dollar, which strengthened against most major currencies Tuesday, AP said.
Diesel and gasoline both reached record high national retail averages this week, the Department of Energy reported Monday.