Oil prices dropped slightly after hitting another record of $68 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange on Thursday, Aug. 25.

This marks the second day in a row of record prices, as the market closed at $67.41 per barrel on Wednesday, Aug. 24.

Trading on the increasingly volatile market touched $68 a barrel in early trading Thursday, before settling back down closer to the $67 mark.

The Associated Press reported traders are worried about the effects Tropical Storm Katrina might have on oil production in the Gulf of Mexico .

An inventory report released Wednesday, Aug. 24, by the U.S. Department of Energy, which showed a decline in gasoline stocks, is also being blamed for price increases.

Meanwhile, ProMiles reported a national average price for diesel of $2.606 per gallon on Thursday, Aug. 25. California still had the highest prices, though the average had slipped below $3 per gallon to $2.976 per gallon.

CaliforniaDieselPrices.com still showed prices in some areas of the state as high as $3.39 per gallon.