Crude oil prices slip after historic one-day gain

LONDON (AFP) - World oil prices dipped slightly on Tuesday in choppy deals as traders banked profits, one day after New York crude had soared more than 16 dollars for its biggest-ever daily jump.

The massive price surge on Monday was driven partly by hopes that a US plan to buy tainted mortgage-related assets would save the global economy from collapse and thus maintain strong demand for energy, dealers said.

The rally was also driven by technical factors because the contract for New York oil deliverable in Oct had expired on Monday.

On Tuesday, New York’s new main contract, light sweet crude for November delivery, shed 2.10 dollars to 107.27 dollars a barrel.

The separate Oct contract had soared $16.37 a barrel to close at 120.92 on Monday after hitting an intra-day high point of $130. On Tuesday it fell back to $120.92.