Crude oil less than $97 per barrel as stockpile jumps [UPDATE] NEW YORK, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices slid to less than $97 per barrel Wednesday in New York for the first time since July 1 as inventories rose more than expected. The Energy Information Administration said domestic stockpiles rose by 5.2 million barrels in the week to 379.8 million barrels. Supplies are above the upper range for this time of year, EIA said. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil gave up $1.50 to $96.80 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices shed 6.24 cents to $2.5543 per gallon. Home heating oil lost 7.87 cents to $2.9186 per gallon. Natural gas was up 4 cents to $3.62 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline dropped to $3.339 per gallon from Tuesday's $3.344, AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.