LONDON, July 15 (AFP) - World oil prices eased slightly Thursday but remained close to record highs as traders fretted over low US inventories, an attack on an Iraqi pipeline and the cancellation of an OPEC meeting next week.
New York's reference light sweet crude for delivery in August slipped 24 cents to 40.73 dollars a barrel in early trading.
The contract had jumped 1.53 dollars to 40.97 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, the highest level since June 1 when US futures hit an all-time record high of 42.33 dollars.
The price of reference Brent North Sea crude oil for August delivery fell 44 cents to 38.10 dollars per barrel in early trading in London, having rocketed by 1.85 dollars a day earlier.
"Fund buying and the fundamental news -- a fire in a pipeline in northern Iraq, rumours that the OPEC could cancel the meeting -- have added a lot of uncertainties to the market," said GNI-Man Financial trader Paul Goodhew.
OPEC later confirmed in a statement it had cancelled the July 21 gathering in Vienna, but said a production increase of 500,000 barrels would go ahead as planned from August 1.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries "has decided that there is ... no call for the Conference to meet on 21st July 2004, as originally forseen," the statement said.
It said OPEC had already increased supply to the market "in order to maintain adequate supply ... and support the continued, robust, global economic growth."
OPEC agreed in June to raise its output ceiling by 2.5 million barrels a day in two stages in its effort to curb high world prices.
A rise of two million barrels per day began this month and the 500,000 rise is scheduled to take effect on August 1.
Meanwhile in Iraq a pipeline connecting the oil fields of the northern city of Kirkuk and the Turkish port of Ceyhan was attacked and set ablaze Thursday, causing a halt in exports through the north, officials said.
"Exports were halted at 8:40 am (0440 GMT) after an explosion on the pipeline near Fatha, about 90 kilometres (60 miles) west of Kirkuk," said an official with the Northern Oil Co.
"It's a further demonstration that you can't guarantee supply from the region. That will make traders nervous," said Commerzbank analyst David Thomas.
Prices had shot higher on Wednesday after government data showed a tightening of supplies in the United States.
Government data Wednesday showed US crude oil stocks fell 2.1 million barrels to 302.9 million and gasoline stocks dropped 200,000 barrels to 205.9 million in the week to July 9.