Crude Oil Prices Fell Sharply

World crude oil prices fell sharply Monday as Hurricane Alberto may miss Gulf oil platforms.

New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, fell $1.27 to close at $70.36 a barrel.

In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery dropped 1.55 dollars to settle at 68.93 dollars a barrel.

Alberto, the first tropical storm of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season, centered near latitude 27.1 north and longitude 89.5 west in the Gulf of Mexico, was about 190 miles (300 km) south-southwest of Apalachicola, in Florida's northwestern panhandle, at 11 a.m. EDT, on Monday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.