Crude prices settled slightly down after rising in late trade on news that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had suspended talks about increasing production quotas by 500,000 barrels a day.
Opec said it would resume negotiations only if the oil price hit $60 a barrel.
Sheikh Ahmad Fahad Al-Sabah, Opec president and Kuwait’s oil minister, said $53 for West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, was an “ideal” price.
This is a higher level than Opec had previously stated.
At a meeting last month, most Opec ministers stated that $40-$50 was a suitable price range for consumers and producers.
Oil prices bounced following an early decline, which at one point saw benchmark oil prices about 6 per cent below record peaks reached on Monday.
But WTI futures for August delivery fell 76 cents to $56.50 by the finish.
In London, August Brent futures closed down 57 cents at $55.58 off an intraday low of $55.53.
US crude futures had been helped by a leap in heating oil futures.
The July Nymex heating oil contract gained more than 4 cents to $1.6450 a gallon. In London, IPE July gasoil futures gained $13.50 to $526.50 a tonne.
Analysts said the decline earlier in the week was related to oil traders taking profits on recent highs to enhance their monthly and quarterly performance.
Igor Shuvalov, one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s top aides, earlier announced Russia would overcome a slowdown in oil output growth, one of the key factors behind the recent spike in oil prices where global demand has remained strong.
He was confident that Russia could boost output to 10m barrels a day, a 7.5 per cent increase from current levels, though he did not give details or a timeframe.
British winter 2005 gas prices touched a record of 70.6 pence a therm for the second successive day and winter 2006 gas prices hit a record 64.4p.
Carbon dioxide emissions prices, which have quadrupled since the start of the year, also reached all-time highs of €25.50 per tonne but fell back in late trade to €25.05 per tonne.
Gold fell more than $1 to $435.90/$436.60 a troy ounce ahead of the US Federal Reserve interest rate-setting meeting from its late quote in New York on Wednesday.
The International Grains Council left its coarse grains forecast unchanged in June’s monthly report, in spite of concerns sparked by a dry pattern in the US.
US maize and soyabean futures briefly moved to an 11-month high on speculative buying, but strong US winter wheat harvest results kept markets under pressure.
