Oil prices keep falling despite smaller US inventories

Crude prices continued to fall on Wednesday despite a report that showed U.S. crude inventories shrank last week.

The West Texas Intermediate prices fell for a ninth day, the longest losing streak since 2009, while Brent slumped to a one- month low.

The Energy Information Administration, U.S. Energy Department's statistical arm, said Wednesday U.S. crude stockpiles dropped 2.37 million barrels to 382.6 million in the week ending July 4. However, inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, rose 447,000 barrels to 20.9 million.

Global crude oil prices have been on a falling track as investors are less concerned about crude supply from Iraq and Libya.

The violence in Iraq hasn't spread to the south, the source of most of the country's output and Brent has almost returned to the level before Islamist militants seized the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on June 10. Iraq stands as the OPEC's second-largest producer.

In addition, Libya's largest and third-largest ports, Es Sider and Ras Lanuf, have 7.5 million barrels of oil ready for export. Libya has also reopened the El Sharara field after protesters ended a four-month strike, which is expected to double the country 's current crude output.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery slipped 1.11 U.S. dollars to settle at 102.29 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for August delivery decreased 66 cents to close at 108.28 dollars a barrel.