Oil prices eased further from recent peaks on Tuesday.
U.S. light crude dropped 21 cents to $38.72 a barrel, nearly $1.50 short of the 13-year peak touched on Friday at $40. London Brent crude was down 14 cents at $35.83 a barrel.
Strong demand in China, low U.S. fuel supplies and an escalation of violence in the oil-rich Middle East have fuelled oil's price rise.
Iraqi crude exports were disrupted at the weekend by sabotage to a pipeline carrying oil to the key loading terminal at Basra, target of failed suicide bomb attacks two weeks ago.
Iraqi Oil Minister Ibrahim Bahr al-Uloum said the sabotage cut Iraq's exports from its Basra terminal in the south to 1.1 million barrels per day,
Exports from the terminal were expected to be restored to normal within 24 hours. Before the sabotage, Iraq was exporting 1.6 million bpd from the Basra Terminal, which is about 10 km (six miles) offshore. --SPA 1711 Local Time 1411 GMT
