Crude oil tops $111 per barrel

• Tweet

NEW YORK, April 20 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices soared above $111 per barrel in New York Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the nation's stockpile fell last week.

The government's energy data office said inventories dropped by 2.3 million barrels in the week ending April 15. At 357 million barrels, supplies remain in the upper limit of the average range for this time of year, the EIA said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May delivery West Texas Intermediate crude added $3.17 or 2.93 percent to reach $111.45 per barrel.

Prices were supported by a weaker dollar, the dollar index dropping 0.91 percent Wednesday.

Home heating oil prices added 6.29 cents to $3.2214 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices gained 4.42 cents to $3.2773 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices gained 4.8 cents to $4.31 per million British thermal units.

At the retail level, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.837 per gallon Wednesday from Tuesday's $3.835 , AAA said.