Crude oil prices climb on drawdown

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NEW YORK, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Crude oil topped $94 per barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as U.S. inventories dropped further than expected.

The Energy Information Administration said U.S. stockpiles decreased by 3.7 million barrels in the week to 366.2 million barrels. Supplies remain above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year, but the draw was expected to be 1.7 million barrels.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil for September delivery in New York added $1.23 to $94.34 per barrel. The natural gas price was 1.6 cents higher at $2.764 per million British thermal units.

Home heating oil was up 0.1 percent at $3.0884 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline dropped 0.34 percent to reach $3.0735 a gallon.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.709 Wednesday, up from $3.702 Tuesday, AAA reported.