Crude oil prices follow equities lower

Crude oil prices fell sharply Friday morning, dropping under $85 per barrel following a global downswing in equity markets. Stock markets were down in Asia, Europe and the United States. In Brussels, Greece decided to pull back from a request to re-negotiate terms of its international bailout assistance after learning the request would be refused. In Washington, the Labor Department said 80,000 jobs were added to the economy in June. That kept the unemployment rate at 8.2 percent. West Texas Intermediate crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange gave up $2.55 to $84.67 per barrel. Home heating oil shed 4.85 cents to reach $2.7199 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline hit $2.7331 per gallon, off 3.l7 cents. Natural gas for July delivery reached $2.926 per million British thermal units, off 1.9 cents. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline gained two cents, reaching $3.358 per gallon from Thursday's $3.338, AAA said.