Oil prices down in Asia as US inventories rise

Oil prices slipped in Asian trade Thursday on concerns over weaker US energy demand after data showed rising inventories, analysts said. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in May, dropped 23 cents to $94.41 a barrel and Brent North Sea crude for May shed 22 cents to $105.57 in the afternoon. "Prices are slipping back a little as dealers realise that crude inventories have risen to just about record levels," David Lennox, resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, told AFP. A US Energy Information Administration report released Wednesday showed that US reserves grew by 250,000 barrels in the week ending April 5. The build pushed US commercial stocks to 388.9 million barrels, not far from the record of 391.9 million barrels seen in July 1990.