NEW YORK, June 19 (Xinhua) -- Oil prices dropped below 70 U.S. dollars a barrel on Friday, dragged by a 5-percent decline in gasoline price.

    Light, sweet crude for July delivery dropped 1.82 dollars, or 2.6 percent, to settle at 69.55 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

    The contract dropped to an intra-day low of 68.90 dollars a barrel on gasoline sell-off. The surprising buildup in gasoline inventories last week made investors believe that U.S. gasoline stockpiles were ample enough to meet the fuel demand during the summer driving season, which pushed gasoline price for July delivery to fall more than 5 percent on Friday, also dragged crude market lower.

    In London, Brent crude for August delivery fell 1.87 dollars to settle at 69.19 dollars a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.