1st LD-Writethru: Oil prices drop on lower-than-expected U.S. GDP data

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Oil prices fell on Friday, as the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter came in lower than analysts' expectation.

The economy of the world's largest oil consumption nation increased at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the first quarter of the year, Commerce Department reported Friday.

The first-quarter growth of the real GDP of the U.S., which was higher than the 0.4 percent for the final three months of 2012, fell short of the market expectation of 3 percent.

The U.S. economy gained steam mainly on stronger consumer spending, and was also propelled by an upturn in exports and a smaller decrease in federal government spending, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the U.S. consumer confidence fell to a three-month low of 76.4 in April after climbing to a four-month high of 78.6 in March, the final reading released Friday by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan suggested.

The index gauging consumer expectation for six months from now dropped to 67.8 in April from 70.8 in March. The index signaled that Americans grew more pessimistic about the economic outlook.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery lost 64 cents to settle at 93 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Brent for June delivery was down 25 cents, or 0.24 percent, to close at 103.16 dollars a barrel. Endi

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