July 19, 2002	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 8, 1423

LONDON, July 18: The price of oil edged slightly lower on Thursday as the market succumbed to profit-taking following recent strong gains.

Reference Brent North Sea crude for September delivery eased nine cents to $26.35 per barrel.

In New York, benchmark light sweet crude August futures lost 28 cents to $27.60 in early trading.

“Wednesday’s high was due to some fun and games in New York and that’s petered out,” said one London oil trader.

The trader noted that with prices having gained around 15 per cent in the past five weeks, the market could be vulnerable to further profit-taking in the near term.—AFP