NEW YORK, May 30 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices fell sharply on Thursday after data showed smaller-than-expected weekly decline in U.S. crude stockpiles amid concerns over weakening demand for the energy.

The West Texas Intermediate for July delivery dipped 2.22 U.S. dollars to settle at 56.59 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for July delivery was down 2.58 dollars to close at 66.87 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

U.S. crude oil inventories decreased during the week ending May 24, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said in a report on Thursday.

According to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, decreased by 0.3 million barrels from the previous week. The rate was well below the 1.4 million-barrel decline estimated by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts.

At 476.5 million barrels, U.S. crude oil inventories were about 5 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.

Meanwhile, fears of lower energy demand, driven by trade tensions and global economic slowdown, continued to rattle the traders.

On the U.S. equities market, the S&P 500 energy sector fell 1.18 percent at Thursday's close, the worst-performing group in the index. Enditem

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