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July 7, 2005 8:45 AM, EDT

The price of crude oil dropped more than $4 a barrel in the immediate aftermath of several apparent terrorist attacks on London’s mass transit system, Bloomberg News reported Thursday.

In early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of crude was $57.20 a barrel, Bloomberg News said. Before the attacks, the price had risen nearly 80 cents to a record of $62.10 a barrel.

By mid-afternoon, oil prices had risen back above $60 a barrel, but had not reached the previous day's record high. The price of crude oil closed at a record high of $61.28 on Wednesday.

Terrorists set of a series of bombs during London’s morning rush hour on the city’s subway and one on a city bus. The attacks were centered around the city’s financial district, Bloomberg said.

Analysts told Bloomberg the decline in prices were not likely to hold, as other concerns like Hurricane Dennis and increasing demand would continue to push prices higher.