Crude oil prices declined Wednesday as US gasoline and crude reserves improved and Hurricane Wilma would avoid the platforms and refineries on the US Gulf Coast.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in November, dropped 79 cents to 62.41 dollars per barrel in closing trading.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for December delivery shed 68 cents to close at 58.60 dollars per barrel.

The Department of Energy said Wednesday that US reserves of crude oil surged over the past week as more supplies came online following hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Crude stocks rose 5.6 million barrels to 213 million in the week to October 14, while gasoline inventories jumped 2.77 million barrels to 197.905 million.

Although Hurricane Wilma gathered strength at a fierce pace on Wednesday, becoming the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded, forecasters said the storm appeared unlikely to maintain its strength and unlikely to approach coastal Texas and Louisiana, where much of the U.S. oil infrastructure is concentrated and which is still recovering from damage caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

About 65 percent of the Gulf's oil production and about 53 percent of its natural gas production remained blocked, according to the Minerals Management Service.

Source: Xinhua