US crude oil hovers near $104

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery lost 18 cent to $104.19 per barrel Thursday morning in New York. Crude oil settled down after the Energy Information Administration said stockpiles of crude oil fell by 1.3 million barrels in the week ending Friday. The draw was larger than expected, but inventories of gasoline and distilled fuel both rose, the agency said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 0.4 cents to reach $2.8751 per gallon. Home heating oil lost 0.39 cents to reach $2.9603 per gallon. Natural gas shed 1.6 cents to $3.231 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.589, down from Wednesday's $3.60, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said.