Crude hovers near record on Iran nervousness

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 | 9:14 a.m.

BUDAPEST, Hungary -- Crude oil prices slipped but remained near record highs Tuesday as traders worried about future oil production from Iran following the country's latest nuclear standoff with the European Union and the United States.

The death of Saudi Arabia's King Fahd on Monday sent prices to a record close of $61.57 a barrel after they reached a new intraday high of $62.30.

More threats from Iran to resume its nuclear processing and refinery fires in the United States also unsettled the market.

"While I was slightly surprised by yesterday's big move, I still see a significant potential for the upside in the market and I expect prices to be some $3 higher in the winter season than now," said energy analyst Orrin Middleton at Barclays Capital in Paris.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell 61 cents to $60.96 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gasoline rose nearly half a cent to $1.7515 a gallon while heating oil was down nearly 2 cents to $1.6980 a gallon.

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