Crude oil prices fell sharply Thursday as Hurricane Emily was expected to miss Gulf of Mexico, easing traders' worries about production and shipment disruptions.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude oil futures for August delivery fell 2.21 dollars to end at 57.80 dollars a barrel, while on London's International Petroleum Exchange, the August Brent crude-oil futures contract declined 96 cents to settle at 57.31 dollars per barrel.

While Hurricane Emily was forecasted to miss the Gulf region, speculation that Emily might shut platforms still promoted some traders to bet prices would rise.

In New York, oil prices had lost 6.9 percent since hitting a record 62.10 dollars a barrel a week ago. Prices remained 41 percent more expensive than a year ago.

Source: Xinhua