NEW YORK, May 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. stocks fell the second successive day Tuesday amid fears of inflation and interest rate hike, as crude oil prices surged above 71 dollars.

    The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Tuesday in its annual Outlook report that the U.S. monetary policy, currently near neutral, needs to tighten slightly to keep the economy in balance.

    The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark short-term rate on May10 to 5 percent, the 16 consecutive time since June 2004 and the highest level in five years.

    The high oil prices sharpen the fears of inflation and interest rate hike. World crude oil prices surged above 71 dollars Tuesday amid concerns over an active hurricanes season, on the eve of U.S. weekly energy stocks report.

    At the closing time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 26.98, or 0.24 percent, to 11,098.35. The Standard & Poor's 500 indexdropped 5.49, or 0.43 percent, to 1,256.58; the Nasdaq composite index fell 14.10, or 0.65 percent, to 2,158.76. Enditem