Oil prices eased today after the Norwegian government ordered an end to a strike that had threatened to bring exports from the world's third-biggest oil exporter to a standstill.
News that shipments from southern Iraq were getting back up to strength added to the perception that the market is adequately supplied with crude.
US light crude fell 28 cents to $37.65 a barrel, reversing modest gains the previous day. London Brent crude shed 21 cents to $35.09.
Prices were eroded after the Norwegian Labour Ministry said the government had ordered an end to an eight-day-old oil and gas strike today.
Government intervention had been widely expected after employers raised the stakes by threatening to lock out almost 3,000 workers from offshore platforms from Monday.
The strike, over pensions and job security, had already halted 375,000 barrels per day of Norway's three million barrels per day output and the lockout would have brought exports to a near standstill.