Crude oil prices declined Thursday as the U.S. government said it would suspend oil purchases for the strategic petroleum reserve.

The Department of Energy, which said in January to buy up to 129,033 barrels of crude oil a day, announced Thursday that it rejected bids for the purchase of up to 4 million barrels of crude as the prices are too high.

The department said it would suspend all purchases of oil for the reserve until at least after the summer driving season.

Light, sweet crude oil for June delivery was down 49 cents at 63.19 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The Brent crude contract for June delivery fell 37 cents to 65. 88 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Source: Xinhua