Crude oil fell today as traders profited from recent increases, but analysts said the pressures driving higher prices remain in force.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 55 cents to $73.54 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by afternoon in Europe.
Oil prices had risen for most of the previous two weeks, reaching an intraday record of $75.78 a barrel on Friday before settling at $74.09.
The Brent crude contract for August fell 62 cents to $72.89 a barrel, after also reaching a new high Friday of $75.09 a barrel.
Last year, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita swept some rigs from their moorings in the Gulf of Mexico, shuttered production facilities and damaged refineries in Louisiana and Texas.
The standoff between the West and Iran, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has pushed prices higher.
Gasoline futures fell more than 2 cents to $2.2130 a gallon, while heating oil prices dropped more than a cent to $1.9950 a gallon.
Natural gas futures gained nearly 12 cents to $5.640 per 1,000 cubic feet after falling Friday to their lowest level in nearly two years as US supplies in storage grew to roughly 30 percent above their five-year average.
The United States is awash in natural gas, and some analysts believe there may not be enough underground storage capacity, potentially forcing some producers to shut wells. Others predict the falling price will spark demand and cause the supply overhang to be whittled away by fall.