Light sweet crude for April delivery dropped 7 cents to US$62,10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, late morning in Singapore.

The price had dropped 93 cents on Wednesday to settle at US$62,17.

Still, strong global demand, a tight supply cushion and geopolitical tensions continue to support prices, which are roughly 13 percent higher than a year ago.

In its weekly supply report, the US Energy Department said crude oil inventories rose by 4,8 million barrels last week to 339,9 million barrels, or 10 percent above year ago levels.

However, supplies of refined products fell.

Petrol inventories dropped by 900 000 barrels to 223,9 million barrels, or less than one percent above year ago levels.

Stocks of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, shrank by 3,9 million barrels to 127,5 million barrels, or 13 per cent higher than a year ago.

Refiners are in the midst of the turnaround season when they shut down their plants to perform maintenance ahead of summer, which is traditionally the busiest period for gasoline production.

It often causes supplies to tighten and prices to rise.

On Tuesday, the International Energy Agency lowered its 2006 oil demand estimate by 290 000 barrels per day.

- Nampa-AP

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