By KUNA
Kuala Lumpur : Oil prices went down on Monday from last week’s record amid easing tension between oil producers Venezuela and Colombia over the weekend.
Crude contracts had risen above USD 106 a barrel on Friday after a US jobs report that fueled hopes the Federal Reserve would continue cutting interest rates, local media said Venezuela said it was restoring full diplomatic ties with Colombia after they were broken off following a cross-border Colombian attack on a leftist rebel camp in Ecuador.
Last week, rebels attacked and shut down a Colombian pipeline that transports 60,000 barrels of oil a day in retaliation for the Colombian raid into Ecuador. Light, sweet crude for April delivery lost 35 cents to USD 104.80 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore.
The contract set a trading record of USD 106.54 a barrel on Friday before retreating to settle at USD 105.15 a barrel, down 32 cents.
Heating oil futures lost 0.05 cent to USD 2.9465 a gallon, while gasoline prices added 0.17 cent to USD 2.696 a gallon.
Natural gas futures lose 0.09 cent to USD 9.76 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude futures dropped 36 cents to USD 102.02 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.