Crude oil corrects lower

NEW YORK, May 9 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices corrected lower Thursday in New York, slipping under $96 per barrel with U.S. stockpiles at record highs.

Traders sense demand is strong, as equity markets are experiencing an extended rally just before the summer driving season and China reported an increase in imports in March.

But crude oil supplies are also high. The Energy Information Administration said late Wednesday that crude oil inventories rose by 200,000 barrels in the week ending Friday to 395.5 million barrels, well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 73 cents to $95.82 per barrel.

Gasoline prices dropped 2.66 cents to $2.8317 a gallon. Home heating oil lost 1.15 cents to $2.9062 a gallon. Natural gas declined by 2.6 cents to $3.949 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.549 Thursday, up from Wednesday's $3.539, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said.