Oil falls toward $135(U.S.)

An oil rig is seen in the Saudi desert in this undated file image. GEORGE JAHN The Associated Press NEW YORK – Oil prices fell as much as $6 a barrel today, bringing crude down $10 this week and hurling prices back to levels not seen since June 26. Traders, keeping a wary eye on the global economy, cashed in gains from oil's recent rally. A barrel of light, sweet crude for August delivery fell $6.23 in morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following a $3.92 slide on Monday, and later traded down $5.79 at $135.58. The market's bearish turn this week erases, at least for the time being, the effect of a rally that pushed prices past $145 in a string of record-setting sessions before the Fourth of July. Analysts attributed much of the recent sell-off to profit-taking, saying traders were cashing in on the previous... [read full story]