NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held under $89 per barrel Thursday in New York, as the dollar overrode concerns of a cut in U.S. stockpiles.
The Energy Information Administration late Wednesday announced crude oil supplies had dropped by 9 million barrels in the week ending Dec. 10, the largest weekly decline in eight years.
The news was trumped by a stronger dollar, the dollar index rising 1.07 percent Wednesday. On Thursday, the dollar pivoted, the index falling 0.21 percent.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the price of January delivery light, sweet crude moved 20 cents lower to $88.42 per barrel. Heating oil prices added 0.36 cents to a prior settlement to $2.4871 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices gained 0.29 cents to $2.3121 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices shed 4.3 cents to $4.179 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was unchanged Thursday at $2.984 per gallon, AAA said.
