Crude oil slips below $89

NEW YORK, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices sank below $89 per barrel Thursday after the Energy Information Administration said U.S. oil inventories fell in the week ending Dec. 31.

The EIA said supplies dropped by 4.2 million barrels in the week.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for February delivery lost $2.14 to $88.16 per barrel. Heating oil prices shed 2.87 cents to $2.5135 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices added 0.14 cents to $2.4465 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices gave up 5.2 cents to $4.21 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.079 per gallon, up from Wednesday's $3.077, AAA said.