Oil prices ease as Scottish refinery strike ends
World oil prices eased on Tuesday after Scottish refinery workers ended a two-day strike which helped send prices to record highs.
The industrial action by around 1,200 workers at Grangemouth, west of Edinburgh, ended at 0500 GMT although it could take some time before normal operations resume.
The strike helped to push New York oil to a record of 119.93 dollars a barrel on Monday, a gain of more than 80 percent from a year ago.
In late afternoon trade, New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, eased 93 cents to 117.82 dollars per barrel on Tuesday.
Brent North Sea crude for June delivery fell 1.15 dollars to 115.59 dollars a barrel. The contract struck an all-time high of 117.56 dollars last Friday.
David Moore, a commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney, said the downward adjustment in prices was due to news that the workers in Scotland would be returning to work.
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