Crude oil prices turned slightly higher in early afternoon Asian trade on Wednesday despite a forecast for slower energy demand growth. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, rose 15 cents to $125.95 per barrel. On Tuesday contract jumped to a record $126.98. Brent North Sea crude for June delivery gained 16 cents to $124.26 a barrel. Crude oil prices have more than doubled in the past year and rocketed about 25 percent since the start of 2008, when they broke the $100 barrier. The oil market has been holding steady since it rose yesterday... on concerns about distillate tightness in the market," said Victor Shum, an analyst at Purvin and Gertz energy consultancy in Singapore. The latest price spike followed a fall earlier Tuesday after the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy policy adviser to major industrialised countries, cut its forecast for growth in global oil demand.