Crude Oil Price: Second Record in Two Days

The cost of high-quality crude oil slipped early Tuesday after reaching a nominal record the day before, but then rose to set another record.

A barrel of light, low-sulfur crude changed hands on the New York Mercantile Exchange for $61.89 per barrel. In London, a similar high-quality crude settled down at $60 per barrel.

The commodity hit $62.30 Monday on news of the death of Saudi Arabia’s King Fahd. But an apparently smooth succession to his half-brother, and assurances that Fahd’s death presaged no changes in the kingdom’s energy policies, soothed traders’ worries.

Product prices rose. Heating oil for September delivery crept up to $1.7255 per gallon, and gasoline rose 3.29 cents to $1.78 per gallon.

Natural gas also increased to $8.378 per million Btu.