Crude prices drop amid profit-taking

Oil prices retreated Thursday amid profit-taking after sharp gains.

Crude prices surged Wednesday as US crude stockpiles contracted surprisingly.

US crude supplies of last week dropped 4.9 million barrels to 529.9 million barrels, 47.5 million barrels more than one year before, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA)'s weekly report released Wednesday.

Crude production of the country lost 14,000 to 9.008 million barrels a day last week, according to EIA.

Traders stayed cautiously ahead of the upcoming meeting of producers on April 17 in Doha, the capital of Qatar, to discuss the output freeze. Kuwait OPEC Governor Nawal al-Fezaia said Tuesday that major oil producing countries can reach an agreement for a production freeze even if Iran does not join the action.

The West Texas Intermediate for May delivery moved down 49 cents to settle at 37.26 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for June delivery increased 41 cents to close at 39.43 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.