Oil prices were flat above 52 usd a barrel in Asian trading hours after dropping sharply in the US markets when a surprise decline in US crude oil inventories roiled sentiment, dealers said. They said that while the inventory figures should have been supportive, the main driver was technical, with the market testing the 55 usd level. It failed to breach that price and so opened the way to heavy profit-taking. At 11.35 am (0335 GMT), New York's main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in July, was down 0.01 usd to 52.53 usd from its close of 52.54 usd in New York overnight. In New York, the contract spiked briefly above 55 usd but then fell sharply after the US Department of Energy (DoE) reported crude oil reserves fell 3.0 mln barrels to 330.8 mln in the week ending June 3. The DoE also reported gasoline stockpiles had fallen by a modest 100,000 barrels to 217 mln barrels during the ongoing US summer holiday driving season when consumption is at its peak as Americans take to the road. Distillates rose by 1.3 mln barrels, the DoE added, in line with analysts' consensus forecasts, amid fears of a shortage of heating oil during the next northern hemisphere winter. In London, Brent North Sea crude oil for delivery in July also saw a rally cut short and closed down 1.02 usd at 52.11 usd yesterday. "I think we've seen the market really push hard to break through the 55 usd a barrel level which it failed to do," said Daniel Hynes, an energy analyst with ANZ Bank in Melbourne. "As a consequence, we've seen a lot of traders and speculators pull out when that level failed to be exceeded (on a sustained basis). To my mind it's basically a technical retrenchment." Hynes said prices were likely to continue easing. "I'm a little bit (negative) on the market. At the moment, prices should ease a little further but volatility will be high," he said