Crude oil slips on supply report

Crude oil prices turned lower in New York Wednesday, closing near $81 per barrel after a supply report defied expectations. Traders expected crude oil supplies to have tightened for the third consecutive week. Instead, supplies rose by 2.9 million barrels in the week ending Friday, reaching 387.3 million barrels. The Energy Information Administration said crude oil inventories are above the upper limit for the average range for this time of year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery dropped from a high of $84.72 per barrel to a low of $80.86, before closing the day at $81.08. Natural gas for July delivery added 1.3 cents to hit $2.53 per million British thermal units. Home heating oil gained 3.01 cents to $2.6175 per gallon. Gasoline moved higher, adding 0.57 cents in late trading to reach $2.513 a gallon. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline lost a penny, dropping to $3.487 per gallon from Tuesday\'s $3.497, AAA said.