NEW YORK, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices slid off of a six-week high Wednesday morning, but held above $98 per barrel on expectations of increasing demand.
The Energy Information Administration forecast global demand would rise as much as 1.2 million barrels per day in 2014.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude hit a six-week peak at $98.76 per barrel, then eased back to $96.39.
Reformulated gasoline blendstock for January gave up 2.19 cents to $2.661 a gallon.
January heating oil shed 0.57 cents to reach $3.0116 a gallon while natural gas lost 4 cents to reach $4.19 per million British thermal units.
The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline dropped slightly to $3.257 a gallon from Tuesday's $3.259 a gallon, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.
