Oil prices edged towards $77 a barrel today, heading for its first quarterly drop since 2008.
For August delivery, US crude dropped 12¢ to stand at $75.82 by 04.38 GMT, while ICE Brent crude fell 29¢ to $75.15 a barrel, according to Reuters.
Oil prices have declined almost 10% since the end of March 2010, the first quarterly drop since October-December 2008.
Crude cut losses as inventories fell more than expected last week and after news that Hurricane Alex forced the shutdown of a quarter of US oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.
Precautionary evacuations and closures in the area interrupted 395,878 barrels per day, or 24.7%, of US oil output in the Gulf.
Data from the American Petroleum Institute revealed crude inventories fell 3.4 million barrels last week, while distillates gained four million barrels and petrol fell by 908,000 barrels.
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By GlobalDataUS oil demand in April was 45,000 barrels per day more than previously estimated, a rise of 439,000bpd from a year earlier, the Energy Information Administration said.
