Oil prices briefly spiked to a record above $126 a barrel Monday but ended the day lower as investors cashed in profits and an earthquake in China raised the possibility of a drop in demand.
Retail gas prices, meanwhile, rose to another record above $3.70 a gallon, again following crude's recent path higher.
Oil futures have set records for six straight sessions, and analysts said the market was due for a correction following the seemingly relentless climb upward.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped to a new all-time trading record of $126.40 a barrel in light trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange before falling back to settle at $124.23, down $1.73 from Friday's closing record of $125.96. It was the first time oil has closed lower in six sessions.
Oil's surge is pushing retail gas prices higher. The national average price of a gallon of regular gas rose 1.1 cents overnight to a record $3.718 a gallon according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.