Crude oil prices cooled off Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange as investors placed their bets on a substantial production increase by OPEC when the cartel's ministers meet next week in Vienna.
In other markets, butter prices extended a retreat and coffee fell to a new eight-month low.
After rocketing over $33 a barrel this week on uncertainty over OPEC's intentions, oil prices were down as much as $1.75 at one point Friday, sliding to $31.20, on signs the cartel's production will be raised by at least a half-million barrels a day.
Amid continuing uncertainty, crude for July delivery recovered to finish 62 cents lower for the day at $32.33 a barrel.
While the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries remained mum about a decision cartel leaders claim to have already made, Indonesian officials said OPEC would raise production by 500,000 or more barrels a day. Analysts say the increase could wind up being as high as 1.2 million barrels.
Either way, it should help tamp down the demand that has helped drive prices back up.
The meeting at Vienna, Austria, is set for June 21.
With supplies tight, the market is particularly vulnerable to price spikes from refinery disruptions.
A price correction was deemed inevitable after a rally that had taken prices 11 percent higher in a week.
"It was a profit-taking extravaganza today," said Phil Flynn, senior energy analyst for Alaron Trading Corp. Along with the Energy Department's move and the latest talk, "an incredible run this week led traders to take profits," he said.
The price of North Sea oil also slumped. August Brent crude fell $1.04 to $28.35 on the International Petroleum Exchange in London.
In other energy commodities traded in New York, July heating oil fell 3.20 cents to 74.24 cents a gallon, July unleaded gasoline fell 2.25 cents to $1.0655 a gallon and July natural gas rose 2.5 cents to $4.488 per 1,000 cubic feet.