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September 16, 2005 2:00 AM, EDT

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rude oil prices fell for the fifth day in six on signs that higher prices are slowing global demand, Bloomberg reported.

The International Energy Agency, which released 60 million barrels of oil from its members’ stockpiles following Hurricane Katrina, said Thursday it would not release more stockpiles, after a U.S. auction of crude reserves from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve filled demand gaps, Bloomberg said.

Crude oil prices fell $1.75 to $63 a barrel in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, Bloomberg reported. That is almost $8 below the $70.85 record reached Aug. 30 following Katrina’s landfall near New Orleans.

OPEC, which meets in Vienna, Austria on Monday, cut its global demand forecast Thursday on lower-than-expected growth forecasts for the United States and China.

(Click here for previous coverage.)