Crude oil rebounds Wednesday morning

NEW YORK, Sept. 18 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices turned higher Wednesday morning, closing in on $106 per barrel as traders waited for two key afternoon announcements.

The Energy Information Administration's weekly inventory report is due for release Wednesday afternoon. Soon after that, the U.S. Federal Reserve is scheduled to announce its monetary policy positions. Many expect the Fed to pull back from its $85 billion per month asset purchasing program.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil prices for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 54 cents to $105.96 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices added 0.54 cents to $2.6665 per gallon. Home heating oil dropped 0.82 cents to $2.9901 per gallon. Natural gas shed 2 cents to $3.72 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $3.506 per gallon Wednesday from Tuesday's $3.512, AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.