Oil prices edge lower Thursday

NEW YORK, May 29 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices declined Thursday in New York after the government said supplies fell by 8.8 million barrels in the week ending May 23.

Analysts said the decline signaled reduced demand, which eased prices.

"The draw in inventories does not reflect a supply shortfall as much as a decline in demand for crude, and for crude storage," Antoine Halff, of brokerage firm Newedge USA, told The Wall Street Journal.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil prices fell $3.21 to $126.66 per barrel. The price of heating oil gained 0.0065 cents in late trading to $3.695 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0023 cents to $3.4065 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.016 cents to $11.49 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline hit $3.952, up from Wednesday's price of $3.944, AAA said.