Energy commodities start down, close down

NEW YORK, Jan. 16 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices fell for a second straight day Wednesday after a government report showed crude inventories in the United States rose more than expected.

The price for crude oil fell $1.79 to $90.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Wednesday inventories rose for the first time in nine weeks, up by 4.3 million barrels to 287.1 million barrels for the week ending Jan. 11.

"If there were any bears still left in hibernation this report should bring them out," James Williams, an economist at energy research firm WTRG Economics, told MarketWatch. "For a week the petroleum market has been trading down on fear of a recession. This report adds to that."

Also on the exchange, natural gas lost 5.5 cents to $8.141 per million British thermal units. Gasoline fell 5.48 cents to $2.2544 a gallon while heating oil slipped 4.94 cents to $2.4978 a gallon.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $3.054 Wednesday, down from $3.061 reported Tuesday by the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report.