World oil prices rose slightly on Friday, a day after surging to fresh record high points nearing 58 dollars in New York amid robust global demand.
New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in April, rose 15 cents to 56.55 dollars in early dealing.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the April contract had surged to a record intra-day high point of 57.60 dollars per barrel on Thursday.
In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in May advanced eight cents to 55.14 dollars on Friday.
Brent crude had reached a record peak of 56.15 dollars per barrel on Thursday -- the first time it had broken the 56-dollar barrier.
Victor Shum, an analyst in Singapore for energy consultancy firm Purvin and Getz, said traders were beginning to take profits after a hectic week.
"The oil market was really overheated with a lot of momentum; now traders realise that they've gotten to the resistance level and it's time to take some profit."
Shum added: "The surge in prices during the last two weeks was really not consistent with supply and demand fundamentals; this downward correction is justified."
Prices began hitting new highs Wednesday after the US Department of Energy released data showing falls in inventories of gasoline and distillates.
The DoE said gasoline supplies dropped 2.9 million barrels and distillates 1.9 million barrels in the week ended March 11.
The declines added to concerns that supplies would struggle to keep up with demand as the market both gears up for the summer driving season in the United States and sees continued winter weather there.
Traders had largely ignored the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which agreed on Wednesday to raise production quotas by 500,000 barrels per day initially.
Fresh comments from OPEC president Sheikh Ahmad Fahd al-Sabah, who on Thursday said the cartel was prepared to raise production in the fourth quarter by an additional 2.5 million barrels a day, also failed to ease jitters.
"Promises of additional OPEC oil are having a muted impact on futures prices as the market heads into the (US) driving season," Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish said.
World oil prices have now more than doubled since early 2002.
Adjusted for inflation, however, they remain far below levels reached in the wake of the 1979 Iranian revolution when prices surged to upwards of 80 dollars a barrel in today's money.