NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Oil prices eased slightly Friday after the top U.S. energy official said he was confident there would be enough gasoline supply to meet peak summer driving demand.
The loss ended a week-long rally of as much as 5 percent that had been driven by worries that a bout of refinery problems in the world's top fuel consumer would lead to a stockpile crunch when motorists hit the road for vacation season.
U.S. crude settled down 22 cents a barrel to $63.63, after jumping $1.84 Thursday. London Brent was up 25 cents at $68.97 after earlier hitting $69.59 earlier in the day, its highest since September 2006.
"I am relatively confident that we're going to continue to have supply," U.S. Energy Secretary Sam Bodman said Friday. "I'm concerned not so much with supply as I am with prices."
U.S. gasoline inventories have slumped more than 12 percent since early February, fueling a 40 percent climb in U.S. gasoline futures and sparking forecasts of pump prices well over $3 a gallon.
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