Crude Oil Falls Hard on Stock Report

News of huge U.S. oil inventories chopped the price of crude oil Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The price of crude oil for March delivery fell nearly $2 per barrel to $57.60, and natural gas was off a nickel to $7.06 per million Btu.

Gasoline futures were down slightly to $1.385 per gallon, and heating oil closed off at $1.607 per gallon.

The Energy Department reported that U.S. oil supplies were well above average levels for this time of year.