World crude oil prices fell sharply Monday as Hurricane Alberto may miss Gulf oil platforms.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, fell 1.27 dollars to close at 70.36 dollars a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery dropped 1.55 dollars to settle at 68.93 dollars a barrel.

Alberto, the first tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, centered near latitude 27.1 north and longitude 89.5 west in the Gulf of Mexico, was about 190 miles (300 km) south-southwest of Apalachicola, in Florida's northwestern panhandle, at 11 a.m. EDT, on Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

Meanwhile, energy experts said Alberto was expected to miss Gulf oil platforms.

An Iranian government spokesman said on Monday that Iran would not negotiate on its nuclear fuel work as Teheran is studying a six-nation proposal aimed to solve the standoff over Iran's nuclear issue.

The United States urged Iran on Monday to suspend uranium enrichment activities as a prerequisite for any negotiations over its nuclear program.

Source: Xinhua