Oil prices fell below $54 a barrel today as the market shrugged off a drop in US crude and gasoline inventories and judged supplies to be comfortable for the time of the year.
US light crude dropped 53 cents to $53.50 a barrel. Prices are 19 per cent above levels at the end of 2004 but off $4.78 from the all-time peak at $58.28 reached earlier this month.
Government data yesterday showed an unexpected fall in US crude oil stocks, ending a nine-week run of increases as imports into the world's biggest oil consumer declined and refiners ramped up production.
Inventories fell by 1.8 million barrels in the week to April 15th to almost 319 million barrels. Yet, stocks are almost 23 million barrels above where they were at this time last year and are at the top end of the five-year average.