Oil plunges despite unexpected inventories slump

Crude prices plunged Wednesday even after U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly fell sharply. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that crude inventories declined by 4.7 million barrels, far below analysts' expectation of increasing by 1.8 million barrels. This report pushed crude higher in the early trading session. Crude also got a boost from positive economic news as the U.S. Commerce Department said housing starts rose 15 percent in September and the Federal Reserve's Beige Book of September showed that economy slightly improved in most areas in the United States. But weighed by declining U.S. equities, crude turned to tumble in late trading. In view of the lower-than-expected earnings of Apple Inc., the technology sector led the decline of stocks, hurting market sentiment. And after Moody's unexpectedly cut Spain's credit rating by two notches, concerns about the European debt crisis re-emerged. Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 2.23 dollars, or 2.52 percent, to settle at 86.11 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In London, Brent crude for December delivery dropped 2.76 dollars, or 2.5 percent to close at 108.39 dollars a barrel.