Crude oil prices fell Monday after recent increases and as worries eased about Iran, but analysts said the pressures driving higher prices remained in force, the Associated Press reports.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 59 cents to $73.50 a barrel in electronic trading by afternoon in Europe. Oil prices had risen for most of the previous two weeks, reaching an intraday record of $75.78 a barrel on Friday before settling at $74.09. The Brent crude contract for August fell 87 cents to $72.64 a barrel, after also reaching a new high Friday of $75.09 a barrel.


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