Oil drops from 31-month high ******

LONDON, Apr 29 (Bloomberg): Oil traded lower in New York after the US said economic growth in the first quarter rose 1.8 per cent, slower than economists had forecast. Crude futures earlier climbed to a new 31-month high after Fed Chairman Ben S Bernanke said Thursday that it will keep record low interest rates in place and stop buying bonds in June. The gains were trimmed after the US said its economy grew at a slower pace than the last quarter of 2010.