Crude oil prices fell Wednesday on profit-taking after earlier striking four-month peaks on worries over crude supplies from Iran and Nigeria.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, lost 58 cents to close at $65.73 a barrel after earlier striking $ 66.93 - the highest level since September 22.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for March delivery eased 71 cents to end at 64.19 dollars a barrel. It earlier hit 65.52 dollars, last seen September 22.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, heating oil futures for February fell 3.6 cents to settle at $1.7555 a gallon, while February gasoline slipped 5 cents to settle at $1.7733 a gallon. Natural gas futures dropped 47.4 cents to settleat $8.694 per million British thermal units, after rising as high as $9.39.
International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN atomic watchdog, said Wednesday it would hold an emergency meeting on Iran's nuclear program on Feb. 2 but Tehran voiced confidence it would avoid referral to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions. Iran announced last week that it is restarting a nuclear research program after a two-year suspension.
