Crude oil prices were little changed Thursday on signs that high prices were cutting fuel consumption.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude oil futures for September delivery closed at 63.27 dollars a barrel, up only 2 cents from previous settlement. In London, the October Brent crude oil futures fell 16 cents to finish at 62.40 dollars per barrel on International Petroleum Exchange.

A report from a business group showed that US economic growth was slowing partly because of high energy prices. Meanwhile, an oil industry report showed that US gasoline demand fell last month because of high prices. The end of the summer-vocation period next month might further cut fuel use, according to many analysts.

So far this week, oil futures had fallen 5.4 percent. Prices were 34 percent higher than a year ago.

However, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the third-largest US brokerage house, raised its oil outlook for next year to 68 dollars a barrel and said prices would stay at about 60 dollars per barrel for years to come.