April 03, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25, 1429

LONDON, April 2: World oil prices fell on Wednesday for the fourth trading day in a row after news of a sharp weekly rise in US crude reserves, analysts said.

New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, dipped 36 cents to $100.62 per barrel after earlier touching as high as $102.18.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for May slid 63 cents to $99.54 per barrel.

The US government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) said on Wednesday that American crude reserves surged by 7.4 million barrels to 319.2 million barrels in the week ending March 28.

That easily beat analysts’ consensus forecasts for a gain of 2.25 million barrels.

The EIA added that US gasoline or petrol stocks fell by 4.5 million barrels last week, which was heavier than market expectations for a fall of 2.5 million.

—AFP