US Crude oil prices slide overnight

The price of crude oil slipped to less than $97 a barrel Tuesday as traders considered economic data and a supply disruption in the Midwest. The European Union's data agency Eurostat said unemployment rose to 12 percent in the eurozone in February. Exxon Mobile, meanwhile, shut down a pipeline that runs from the Midwest to the U.S. Gulf Coast due to a leak. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May delivery shed 30 cents to $96.72 per barrel. Gasoline prices gave up 3.6 cents to $3.0715 per gallon. Home heating oil added 2.22 cents to $3.0923 a gallon. Natural gas dropped 0.6 cents to reach $4.021 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.637 Tuesday, up from Monday's $3.634, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said.