Economy, demand worries send crude prices lower

Crude oil prices declined on Thursday as investors grew more worried that the US economy will slow further, cutting demand for oil.

Weak retail sales data and a report from the Energy Information Administration that showed demand down for a third straight week trumped comments from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke that he is ready to cut interest rates to avoid a recession and reports of an attack on several ships connected to the oil industry in Nigeria to keep prices lower on the session.

West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery dropped $1.92 to trade at $93.75 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while February contracts for Brent crude fell $1.36 to $93.01 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex February gasoline was down 8 cents to $2.36 per gallon and February heating oil was 5 cents lower to $2.56 per gallon while March natural gas added 8 cents to $8.17 per million British thermal units.

At-the-pump gasoline prices in the US dropped 0.4 cent to $3.10 per gallon on average nationally.