Crude oil drops on dour data

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NEW YORK, March 28 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices slid nearly $2 to near $105 per barrel Wednesday on economic data that came in below expectations.

The U.S. Commerce Department said durable goods orders rose 2.2 percent in February, significantly less than the 3 percent economist expected. In Britain, the Office of National Statistics said the gross domestic produce fell 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with the third. Economists had expected a revised figure to show a 0.2 percent drop.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May delivery West Texas Intermediate light sweet crude lost $1.82 to hit $105.54 per barrel -- near the bottom of a recent trading range.

Home heating oil added 0.11 cents in late trading to $3.2233 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline gained 0.99 cents to $3.372 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices lost 0.8 cents to $2.274 per million British thermal units.

The national average price of unleaded gasoline reached $3.911 per gallon Wednesday, up from Tuesday's $3.898, AAA said.