WTI crude slides under $86

Crude oil slipped to less than $86 per barrel Wednesday in New York after equities sunk Tuesday for the second trading session out of the past three. The HSBC flash estimate of China's Purchasing Managers' Index showed a slight recovery in October with the index at 49.1 compared with September's 47.9. Overall, however, weak data and sliding equities are undercutting commodities. December delivery West Texas Intermediate crude oil gave up $1 overnight to $85.67 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas prices lost 6.6 cents to $3.469 per million British thermal units. Home heating oil lost 0.47 cents to $3.0261 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline lost 0.51 cents to $2.586 per gallon. At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.625 per gallon, down from Tuesday's $3.648, AAA reported.