Crude oil prices dropped to under $90 per barrel Thursday despite a weekly U.S. stockpile report that said inventories declined in the week ending Dec. 24.
The Energy Information Administration said stockpiles of crude oil dropped by 1.3 million barrels in the week to 339.4 million barrels and remain in the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
Traders moved to take end of the year profits, however, as commodities, including grains and gold futures, tipped lower Thursday.
February delivery crude oil prices lost $1.45 to $89.67 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Heating oil prices shed 3.89 cents to $2.495 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 0.07 cents to $2.3892 per gallon.
Henry Hub natural gas prices added 4 cents to $4.327 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline added 1 cent to $3.071 per gallon from Wednesday's $3.061, AAA said.
