Crude prices drop abruptly Monday

NEW YORK, March 17 (UPI) -- U.S. crude oil prices dropped abruptly Monday, losing more than $4 to less than $106 a barrel in the biggest one-day drop in more than a decade.

Crude oil declined to $105.92 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange from a morning price of $110.33 per barrel.

"It's hard to tell the exact reason for today's drop but it is not on any new fundamental data," James Williams, an economist at WTRG Economics, told The Wall Street Journal. "It may be profit-taking or hedge funds unwinding some of their positions."

The price of heating oil also dropped, down 0.08 cents on the exchange Monday to $3.0755 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices dropped 0.0071 cents in late trading to $2.5185 per gallon.

The price of natural gas dropped 0.867 cents Monday to $9.169 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average national price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit $3.283 Monday, down from $3.285 per gallon on Sunday, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.