1st LD Writethru: Oil prices drop slightly amid ample supply

Oil prices edged down Monday as global crude supply surpasses the demand.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery lost 16 cents to settle at 56.99 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. crude supplies of the week ending April 17 increased 5.3 million barrels to 489 million, 91.3 million barrels more than a year earlier.

Inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the contract, gained 740,000 barrels to 62.2 million barrels.

Last week U.S. crude production decreased 18,000 barrels to 9. 366 million barrels a day, still at historic high level.

U.S. downbeat economic data also weighed on the crude prices. Financial data firm Markit reported Monday that its flash reading of Purchasing Managers Index for the services sector slipped to 57. 8 in April from a final reading of 59.2 in March.

Traders are also closely watching the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meeting, which will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday, with an updated policy statement slating for release after the conclusion of the two-day meeting.

Some analysts expected that the Fed will not raise interest rates until September at the earliest, because of the recent string of weak data.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery moved down 16 cents to settle at 56.99 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. While Brent crude for June delivery lost 45 cents to close at 64.83 dollars a barrel. Endite