Oil prices gain on inventory drop

New York -- Crude oil prices plowed into new territory Wednesday in New York after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. stockpiles had declined.

The weekly report said inventories dropped by 2 million barrels in the week ending June 27.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil prices reacted accordingly, jumping $2.69 to a record $144.72 per barrel.

The price of heating oil rose 0.0104 cents in late trading to $4.0819 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0106 cents to $3.56 per gallon.

Natural gas prices rose 0.019 cents to $13.408 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was up 0.005 cents to $4.092 per gallon, AAA said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.