Crude oil prices rise slightly

NEW YORK, July 9 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held above $61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday after U.S. inventories dropped in the week ending July 3.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday stockpiles of crude fell by 2.9 million barrels, but remain high for this time of year.

Crude oil prices gained 14 cents to $60.56 per barrel. Heating oil prices fell 0.0131 cents to $1.536 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline lost 0.021 cents to $1.6648 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.04 cents to $3.418 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.58 Thursday, down from Wednesday's $2.593 a gallon, AAA said.