NEW YORK, Feb. 25 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices dropped under $79 per barrel Thursday in New York on rising inventories and falling demand for distillate fuels.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude inventories increased by 3 million barrels in the week ending Feb. 19. At the same time, comparing four-week rolling averages, the EIA said distillate fuel demand had fallen 6.8 percent compared to the same period a year ago.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil prices shed $1.21 to hit $78.79 Thursday morning. Heating oil prices lost 0.0267 cents to $2.0154 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices lost 0.04 cents to $2.0589 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices dropped 0.064 cents to $4.795 per million British thermal units.
On the retail level, the average national price for unleaded gasoline was $2.693 per gallon Thursday, up from Wednesday's $2.678, AAA said.
