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October 6, 2005 5:00 PM, EDT

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rude oil prices fell to their lowest level in two months as demand from U.S. refiners fell, Bloomberg reported Thursday.

Benchmark light sweet crude oil futures dropped for a fifth straight trading session, closing at $61.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, dropping $1.43 from Wednesday's closing price.

Crude prices hit a record $70.85 on Aug. 30, following Hurricane Katrina’s landfall near New Orleans.

Oil prices fell 6.2% and gasoline tumbled 13% this week, Bloomberg reported. Fuel imports rose to the highest since at least 1990, the Energy Department said Wednesday.

DOE also reported Wednesday that stockpiles of crude, gasoline and distillate fuel, which includes diesel, all fell last week.

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