Crude oil futures fell from record Thursday as terrorist attacks in London raised the possibility of an economic slowdown.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude oil futures for August delivery fell 55 cents to end at 60.73 dollars a barrel. Oil prices briefly reached 62.10 dollars a barrel before plunging by 4.08 dollars a barrel in early trading. Meanwhile, on London's International Petroleum Exchange, the August Brent crude-oil futures contract declined 57 cents to settle at 59.28 dollars. Brent oil futures fell 4.30 dollars a barrel in earlier trading.

"The bombings may have an impact on the UK and European economies, which would limit demand," said a senior oil analyst at New York-based Citigroup Inc. "The market has been driven more by demand fears than supply. Worries about demand are what has pushed us higher."

On Thursday, the US Energy Department released the latest data on petroleum inventories. The report showed distillate fuels, which included diesel and heating oil, rose 4.1 million barrels to 117.2 million in the week ended July 1. However, crude oil supplies fell 3.6 million barrels to 324.9 million, and gasoline stocks shed 974,000 barrels to 215.3 million.