Crude oil prices fell slightly Thursday as the National Hurricane Center downgraded the storm to Category 4 from Category 5.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, dipped 30 cents to 66.50 dollars per barrel at the close after trading above 67 dollars for much of the day.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for November delivery eased 13 cents to close at 64.60 dollars per barrel.

The US National Hurricane Center downgraded Hurricane Rita to Category 4 storm from Category 5, but warned it is still " extremely dangerous" and packing winds of 150 miles (240 kilometers) an hour. Rita is projected to make landfall Saturday between the Louisiana border and Corpus Christi, Texas - the heart of US oil production.

Traders wait to see if a weakened Hurricane Rita will bring another round of devastation to the Gulf Coast, disabling refining capacity and driving fuel prices higher. Some oil analysts said that if there is significant damage, the current price spike could be an extended one.

The International Energy Agency said Thursday it will be able to act quickly to release more oil stocks if Rita does major damage to energy facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

OPEC members, responsible for a third of global output, have said the problem is insufficient refining capacity, not the amount of crude available.

Source: Xinhua