Crude Oil Prices Fall Following Greenspan Comments

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rude oil prices fell Tuesday following Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's comments that the current oil-market "frenzy" may soon moderate, Bloomberg reported.

Greenspan said rising oil inventories could curb the recent record highs for oil, Bloomberg reported. He made his comments in a satellite presentation to a petrochemical conference in San Antonio.

Light sweet crude oil futures fell 97 cents to close at $56.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Bloomberg said. Oil prices had hit a record $58.28 high in intraday trading Monday before receding to close at $57.01.

Gasoline futures also fell from record highs, as Department of Energy data showed inventories were 7.4% higher than a year ago, Bloomberg reported.

DOE’s full weekly inventory reports for oil, gasoline and distillates are scheduled to come out Wednesday morning.

Diesel and gasoline retail prices hit records in DOE’s latest weekly survey, released Monday.