NEW YORK, Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices slid further on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday, dipping under $78 per barrel on concerns U.S. supplies are too high.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude oil supplies had risen by 3.7 million barrels in the latest weekly assessment.
Crude oil prices previously spiked this week to a 15-month high above $83 per barrel on indications demand in China would rise.
But prices veered lower through the second half of the week. On Friday, U.S. equity markets stumbled and commodities followed.
The price of light, sweet crude fell $1.44 cents to $77.95 per barrel. Heating oil prices lost 0.0336 cents to $2.0493 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices dropped 0.0284 cents to $2.0454 per gallon. Natural gas prices added 0.105 cents to $5.693 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.757 Friday, down slightly from Thursday's $2.758, AAA said.
