•Global crude futures retreated from Monday's highs in early European trading Tuesday, primarily on profit-taking but also amid concern that the market is currently overbought, market sources said. At 10:41 GMT, the Dec ICE Brent contract was at $89.95/barrel, down $1.07/b, while the Dec NYMEX WTI contract was at $92.44/b, sliding $1.09/b from the previous close. Both contracts settled at record highs on Monday, with WTI reaching $93.53/b and Brent $90.32/b.

•"This move is just profit taking--there are no new headlines," said a London-based broker. "People are unwinding positions as they think the market is overbought." "Lately, the market in Asia has been moving the market. It was down nearly a dollar in early trading," said a London-based analyst. "Whatever the market did in the morning it carries on throughout the day. Asia has set the trend recently."

•In other news, OPEC president Mohammed Bin Dhaen al-Hamli said Tuesday oil markets were increasingly being driven by forces beyond the oil producer group's control but stressed that OPEC would do what it could to ensure that markets remained adequately supplied with crude.

Updated: October 30, 2007