Crude oil prices drop Friday morning

Prices resumed their downward trend after climbing Thursday on news U.S. inventories had dropped by 7.3 million barrels last week.

Prices have been battered most of the week by concern over a bailout for Irish banks and officials in China suggesting tighter monetary policy was needed to curb inflation.

January delivery light, sweet crude opened at $82.76, then lost 95 cents to $81.47 per barrel. Heating oil prices shed 2.68 cents to $2.2865 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices shed 4.1 cents to $2.1175 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices gained 7.7 cents to $4.084 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $2.883 per gallon Friday from Thursday's $2.888, AAA said.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).