Crude oil prices dip significantly

Crude oil and gasoline prices were down sharply for a second day in a row on Thursday after Wednesday’s US inventory figures showed unexpected increases over the previous week.  West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was down $2.38 to $69.90 per barrel, while Brent crude June contracts on the International Petroleum Exchange dropped $2.05 to $70.60.  Nymex unleaded gasoline for June declined by almost 10 cents to $1.9870 per gallon.