Commodities : Energy Futures Prices Drop

Energy futures retreated Tuesday after a five-day rally that had sent crude oil above $19 a barrel for the first time in 11 months.

In other markets, wheat was higher but other grains and soybeans were mostly lower, pork was higher but cattle mixed and precious metals were mixed.

Analysts said the decline in energy futures at the New York Mercantile Exchange was caused by profit taking but added there was little reason to believe a steep fallback is likely.

Also a negative factor was a decline in the London market, which had escalated rapidly in recent days, and the belief that price advances in New York attributed to cold weather in Europe were a little overdone.

“And there were rumors--unconfirmed and in my mind not very likely--that a cease fire was being worked out in the Iran-Iraq war,” said Peter Beutel, an analyst in New York with Elders Futures Inc. A peace agreement would probably loosen supplies, he said.