May 01, 2008	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 24, 1429

LONDON, April 30: Oil prices tumbled lower on Wednesday as traders reacted to buoyant US crude inventories and awaited an interest rate decision from the Federal Reserve, analysts said.

Prices had already erased more than three dollars on Tuesday as the US currency recovered and because of easing concerns over tight energy supplies, they added.

On Wednesday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, fell $1.83 to $113.80 per barrel. New York crude had struck a record high $119.93 on Monday.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for June sank $1.69 to $111.74 a barrel. The contract had hit an all-time peak of $117.56 last Friday.

Consumer nations are voicing serious concerns about sky-high oil prices and have appealed for higher production from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec).

The US government’s Department of Energy (DoE) said on Wednesday that American crude inventories surged by 3.8 million barrels in the week ending April 25.

That was far more than market expectations for a gain of 1.5 million barrels.

US stockpiles of gasoline, or petrol, fell by 1.5 million barrels, beating analysts’ forecasts for a smaller decline.

“The overall impact of the data should be bearish,” said Citigroup analyst Tim Evans. “The main support in the headline figures was the draw in gasoline inventories.”—AFP