Oil prices decline as strike ends

Oil prices have eased from record highs as Scottish refinery workers ended a two-day strike that had halted much of the North Sea's oil production, reported The BBC.

The strike had helped push the price of US sweet light crude to a peak of $119.93 a barrel, a gain of more than 80% over the past 12 months.

On Tuesday, US sweet, light crude fell 50 cents to $118.25, while London's Brent crude lost 62 cents to $116.12.

A rebound in the value of the US dollar also helped keep oil prices in check.

BP shut down a key North Sea pipeline at the weekend after 1,200 workers walked out of the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland in a two-day strike over pensions.

The pipeline from the Forties oil fields in the North Sea relies on steam and electricity from the Ineos refinery at Grangemouth.

Workers returned to the oil refinery on Tuesday and talks are expected to take place between staff and management.

"The Forties pipeline shutdown in the North Sea is fully priced in and the market may be taking some mild profits on the basis that we'll see a return ...in the near term," said Mark Pervan at the ANZ Bank.

Grangemouth's closure has caused up to 70 platforms in the North Sea to either shut down or reduce production of oil, resulting in the loss of 700,000 barrels of oil a day.