Surprise drop in US oil reserves roils market

WASHINGTON - US crude oil inventories fell sharply over the past week, government and private surveys showed Wednesday, prompting a spike in futures prices.
The Department of Energy (DoE) said crude oil reserves fell three million barrels to 330.8 million in the week ending June 3.
The American Petroleum Institute said its survey showed a plunge of 13.77 million barrels to 321.09 million.
Most analysts had been looking for a build to crude inventories.
Crude oil futures spiked 1.24 dollars to 55 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after the news.

06/08/2005 14:53 GMT