Oil prices fell nearly 4 percent on Tuesday as hedge fund speculators took profits from an all-time high above $60, Reuters reported. U.S. crude CLc1 ended $2.34 lower at $58.20 a barrel, having set a record at $60.95 on Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange. London Brent LCOc1 dropped $2.02 to $57.28 a barrel after setting a record at $59.59 on Monday on the International Petroleum Exchange. Oil demand in the United States and Asia has held strong in the face of high fuel costs, encouraging traders to test the upper limits of what consumers will pay for energy. But dealers are starting to wonder how high prices can go before denting demand, triggering an economic slowdown. "One of the surprises of the high oil prices is that we haven't seen its penalty in economies. There will definitely be a cost but it will be delayed," Cambridge Energy Research Associates Chairman Daniel Yergin told Reuters in an interview Tuesday. U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said Tuesday there was no doubt inflated fuel costs were hurting the U.S. economy, though not enough to halt or reverse recovery. --More 2250 Local Time 1950 GMT
