Crude oil prices slip Wednesday

NEW YORK, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices fell sharply on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, as weak economies continue to point to falling demand.

Crude oil prices fell $4.32 to $46.12 per barrel, more than $100 below the peak price of $147.27 set last July. Heating oil prices fell 0.0832 cents to $1.5431 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline fell 0.1128 cents to $1.0764 per gallon. Natural gas prices fell 0.111 cents to $5.872 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.727 Wednesday, up from Tuesday's $1.688 a gallon, AAA said.