Crude oil prices dropped Wednesday after the U.S. government’s decision to make petroleum available from its strategic reserve. But wholesale and retail gasoline prices leaped higher nationwide.
Light sweet crude for October delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 6 cents to $69.75 a barrel, down from an overnight high of $70.65. On Tuesday, oil futures settled at $69.81, the highest closing price on the Nymex since trading began in 1983. October gasoline futures surged by almost 42 cents to $2.89 a gallon on the Nymex. That is almost 75 cents, or 38 percent higher, than they were on Friday.