Oil prices fell today on profit-taking, a day after surging to record highs on the back of a weak dollar and concerns over tight supplies.
Brent North Sea oil for August delivery slid by $1.22 to $144.86 a barrel in electronic deals. New York's main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, shed $1.19 to $144.10.
Yesterday Brent soared to a life-time peak of $146.69 a barrel while New York crude leaped to an all-time pinnacle of $145.85.
Oil has broken a series of price records this week, continuing the momentum begun at the start of the year when it broke through $100 for the first time.
Oil prices, which have doubled in value over the past year, were partly driven this week by news that reserves of US crude fell by two million barrels last week.
The record-breaking price surge also came after Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said that Iran would react fiercely to any military attack against the oil exporter. There has been a surge in speculation recently that Israel might be planning a military strike against Iran's nuclear sites.
