NEW YORK, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Crude prices extended a heavy sell-off Wednesday as U.S. crude stockpiles unexpectedly jumped last week.

    The Energy Information Administration reported U.S. crude oil stocks jumped by 3 million barrels last week while the markets had expected a 3 million barrel decline.

    The Labor Department said consumer prices shot up 1.1 percent last month, the second fastest pace in 26 years. Rising energy prices accounted for two-thirds of that increase, which was far worse than expected.

    Light, sweet crude for August delivery was down 4.14 U.S. dollars to settle at 134.60 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting 132 dollars in the earlier session.

    On Tuesday, crude prices plunged almost 7 U.S. dollars a barrel, the biggest daily drop since 1991, due to fears that U.S. economic woes could hurt global oil demand.