2 B9 S" [1 v2 y' @4 \Crude oil prices fell to nearly $50 a barrel Wednesday, their lowest levels since May 2005.7 f$ W. x+ _8 w( D
( [+ j2 D- R: d' m" s0 d1 RLight, sweet crude for February delivery was down 62 cents to $50.59 a barrel in mid-morning trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.6 @) P2 t$ `+ l; l, I
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February natural gas fell 7.3 cents to $6.565 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York. February heating oil was down 1.24 cents at $1.4679 a gallon. February reFORMulated gasoline futures fell 2.13 cents at $1.3480 a gallon. : k0 O' l8 A( Y. U- f7 `" [" }+ [4 W( A0 g
AAA said Wednesday the average U.S. retail regular-unleaded gasoline price was $2.217 a gallon, down 0.012 cents from Tuesday. ( Y3 t* U. _# l' g) \) g6 }9 U/ N) D. j; x5 S( d$ C
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