Oil Passes $72 Early, Falls Late

After surging past the $72 mark in the morning, crude oil prices dipped for the third straight day.

Light, sweet crude for July delivery settled at $70.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange today, losing 15 cents from Monday's $70.62 settlement price. Yesterday the price fell $1.42.

The decline today came after a heavy mix of economic data that left many scratching their heads and wondering if an economic recovery is really on the horizon. The dollar also fell against most of the big currencies earlier today, deflating the narrative of late that a weakened dollar will automatically translate into higher crude prices.

The fall in crude also comes a day before the U.S. Energy Department is set to release data showing weekly oil inventories.

Most oil stocks fell off later in the day as well. Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) was down 80 cents to $72.00 by late afternoon. Continental Resources(CLR Quote) joined Exxon in the red as well, as those shares changed hands down 5.7%.

ConocoPhillips(COP Quote), on the other hand, was in positive territory, up 29 cents to $43.39.