US crude oil slides Wednesday

Crude oil prices dropped $1.95 to $105.28 per barrel Wednesday despite a draw down in national stockpiles. The Energy Information Administration said crude oil supplies dropped by 2.8 million barrels in the week ending Friday. Supplies reached 364.2 million barrels, remaining in the upper half of the average range for this time of year. Confidence in demand waned, however, due to weak manufacturing data from China. Among corporate reports, Caterpillar Inc. said earnings fell 43 percent to $1.45 per share in the second quarter. Like many of the Dow Jones industrial average components, Caterpillar is seen as a bellwether for the broader economy. On the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday, reformulated blendstock gasoline lost 0.88 cents to $3.0202 per gallon. Home heating oil was at $3.0508 per gallon, off 2.17 cents. Natural gas dropped 4.1 cents to $3.702 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.66 Wednesday, down from Monday's $3.666, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said.