$75, We Hardly Knew Ya: Oil Alert

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- For a time Tuesday, oil had its moment when it briefly kissed the $75-a-barrel level, a psychologically rich barrier. But the moment was fleeting, and oil futures pulled back in a big way.

After hitting the high mark, benchmark crude for the front-month contract settled at $72.05 per barrel, losing $2.32, or just over 3%, Tuesday.

Reports abound suggesting a host of reasons for the retreat -- sell triggers prompting profit-taking, a momentum-gaining dollar and sobering deficit figures that offset better consumer confidence and home-price numbers, to name a few.

Whatever the case, the end result was a decline in oil futures prices on the same day that the October delivery contract fell more than $3 earlier in the session.

Later Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry-trade group, will report its fuel-inventory numbers from last week, while the Energy Department is set to release its inventory data figures Wednesday morning.

In equities action, the oil industry's most recognizable names had a mixed day. A cadre of overseas operators performed slightly better than the rest, as American depositary shares for BP(BP Quote) closed the session up 5 cents at $51.93. Royal Dutch Shell(RDS.A Quote) ADS's added 50 cents to close at $55.43.

Meanwhile, others found themselves mired in the red. ConocoPhillips(COP Quote) lost 28 cents, or 0.6%, to $45.03. Shares of Exxon Mobil(XOM Quote) fell 62 cents, or 0.9%, to $70.68, while Chevron(CVX Quote) shares declined 11 cents to end the day at $70.65.

Also losing ground were Hess(HES Quote), Marathon Oil(MRO Quote) and Murphy Oil(MUR Quote), which gave up 2.1%, 1.4% and 2.6% apiece.

-- Written by Sung Moss in New York