Oil prices fell this evening on oversupply fears, after Brent North Sea crude had briefly touched a record high for 2009.
US crude fell 95 cents to $71.02 a barrel after touching a six-week high of $72.42 earlier in the day. Brent crude fell 68 cents to $74.83 a barrel after earlier hitting a new 2009 high of $76.
US crude stockpiles rose by a much higher than expected 1.7 million barrels in the week to July 31, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration yesterday. A stronger dollar also weighed on prices, analysts said. A stronger dollar makes oil more expensive for holders of other currencies.
Optimism about the possibility of a turnaround in the global economy has helped to lift oil prices from lows of less than $33 a barrel last December.
US crackdown on market 'manipulation'
Meanwhile, the US Federal Trade Commission has issued a final rule to fight oil market manipulation, saying such fraudulent conduct can have wide-ranging ramifications throughout the US economy.
The agency said its rule would prohibit fraud or deceit in wholesale petroleum markets and omissions of material information that is likely to distort petroleum markets.
'This new rule will allow us to crack down on fraud and manipulation that can drive up prices at the pump,' said FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz. 'We will police the oil markets - and if we find companies that are manipulating the markets, we will go after them.'
The rule applies to the sale or purchase of crude oil, gasoline or petroleum distillates, the FTC said. Wrongdoers face civil fines of up to $1m a day per violation. The rule takes effect on November 4.
Violations include false public announcements of planned pricing or petroleum output decisions, false statistical or data reporting, and so-called 'wash sales' intended to disguise the actual liquidity of a market or the price of a particular oil product.
