Crude oil prices notch lower Thursday

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices slipped Thursday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as the demand for oil and gasoline appears to be falling.

The Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. oil consumption had declined 7.1 percent in September, compared with 2007. Gasoline consumption also declined, down 4.5 percent, EIA said.

On Thursday, crude oil prices fell $4.74 to $93.85 per barrel. Heating oil prices fell 0.1279 cents to $2.7255 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline fell 0.104 cents to $2.256 per gallon. Natural gas prices slid 0.335 cents to $7.455 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.598 Thursday, down from Wednesday's $3.619 a gallon, AAA said.