Oil dropped below $145 a barrel on Friday, but was still within sight of record highs reached in the previous session when traders bought into the market ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States.

Oil futures closed trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at a record above $145 a barrel, setting their third all-time high in as many consecutive days.

Oil prices hit another record settling price Wednesday, and then followed up on their close by reaching a record high over $144 a barrel in post-settlement trade, as a drop in U.S. crude inventories stoked supply concerns.

There is "no shortage" in the oil market and OPEC member countries and would prefer a lower price than the current highs, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla El-Badri told CNBC on Tuesday.

Oil prices would not ease even if production were raised because speculation and taxes are behind the soaring market, Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah was quoted as saying in a Kuwaiti newspaper on Tuesday.

Oil prices rose on Tuesday on forecasts that global supplies will struggle to keep pace with demand and concerns that tensions between Israel and Iran could lead to a disruption of exports from the OPEC nation.

The dramatic rise in oil prices is a bubble, famous turnaround investor Wilbur Ross told CNBC Monday, adding that there is no apparent supply problem with crude.

Oil slipped off a record high of more than $143 a barrel as weak U.S. demand countered mounting tensions between OPEC nation Iran and Israel.

Oil futures climbed to a new record near $143 a barrel Friday as the dollar weakened against the euro, confirming expectations that the falling greenback, a major factor in crude's stratospheric rise, will extend its decline and add to oil's appeal.

Crude oil prices could rise to as high as $170 per barrel in the coming months but are unlikely to hit $200 and should ease towards the end of the year, OPEC President Chakib Khelil said in an interview on Thursday.

Oil futures shot above $140 Thursday after OPEC's president said oil prices could rise well above $150 a barrel this year and Libya said it may cut oil production.

Crude oil production from non-OPEC countries will not be able to keep up with growing global demand in the next few years, forcing oil consuming nations to rely more on the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries for supplies, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday.

The United Arab Emirates would only increase oil production as part of a decision agreed by all of OPEC, Oil Minister Mohammed al-Hamli said on Wednesday, dashing faint hopes it might follow recent Saudi boosts.

"More buyers than sellers," is often the answer traders give when asked why prices of shares, bonds or commodities are high.

The token gesture of Saudi Arabia committing to raise oil production meant nothing to the futures market and crude prices will just continue to climb, an energy analyst told CNBC Europe Monday.