Oil prices fall as U.S. inventories, Libya output weigh

By Keith Wallis SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped in tepid Asian trading on Thursday, dragged down by an unexpected rise in U.S. crude inventories last week and moves by Libya to boost output over the next few months. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 5 cents to $52.44 a barrel, after closing the previous session down 81 cents. Traders may have thought prices have run high enough," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney.