Oil eased on limited profit-taking today as investors shifted more funds into the commodities complex and fuel inventories in the United States look set to fall again.
US light sweet crude for May delivery dipped 25 cents or 0.37 per cent to $66.49 a barrel, fading further from yesterday's $67.90 peak, the highest in two months.
London Brent crude edged down four cents to $66.80 a barrel.
Commodities have rallied over the past week as investors allot more funds to the sector at the start of the second quarter, pushing copper and zinc to new highs and giving a fresh lift to oil prices weighed down by bulky crude oil inventories.
Iran's dispute with the West over its nuclear research and the prolonged loss of a quarter of Nigeria's production has added to the investment push, helping to bring prices closer to last year's record peak of $70.85 a barrel.
The fundamental picture may improve tomorrow, when analysts expect US government data to show a modest 900,000-barrel rise in crude stocks, but distillates are expected to fall by 1.5 million barrels and gasoline by 1.8 million barrels.
Although crude supplies recently touched a seven-year high, dealers are anxious that the cut to Nigerian exports and growing demand heading into the summer driving season may whittle down supplies in the next few months.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will meet during talks between oil consumers and producers in Qatar starting April 22nd, but ministers say the cartel has little choice but to keep pumping at near full throttle with prices nearing the $70 mark.