NEW YORK, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices fell below $50 a barrel Thursday before rising again to close above $50 in New York.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery closed at $50.48, down $1.76 or 3.4 percent from Wednesday's settlement price on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Crude had fallen as low as $49.90 after the U.S. Department of Energy reported oil stockpiles rose by 6.8 million barrels to 321.5 million barrels in the week ended Jan. 12. The $49.90 price was crude's lowest since May 25, 2005.
February national gas rose 9 cents or 1.4 percent per 1,000 cubic feet to $6.324. February heating oil fell 2.91 cents or 1.9 percent to $1.4707 a gallon. February reformulated gasoline futures dropped 2.33 cents or 1.7 percent to $1.3553 a gallon.
AAA said Thursday the average U.S. retail regular-unleaded gasoline price was $2.209 a gallon, down 0.008 cents from Wednesday.
