Crude oil slides on inventory data

Crude oil prices slid close to $95 a barrel Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said stockpiles of crude oil rose in the week. In the week ending Saturday, crude oil inventories rose by 3.8 million barrels to 364.5 million. Stockpiles held above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Earlier this week, finance ministers from the Group of Seven nations said they would keep markets amply supplied. The group encouraged oil producing countries to increase output, if necessary, and said they were ready to draw on strategic oil reserves to keep the market stable. On the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for October delivery shed 34 cents to $95.15 per barrel. Natural gas gave up 0.5 cents to $2.68 per million British thermal units. Home heating oil added 2.29 cents to $3.1453 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 0.73 cents to $2.9241 a gallon. At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.804 per gallon Wednesday, up from Tuesday's $3.756, AAA reported.