Crude oil prices slide ti less than $90

A stronger dollar and a report claiming commodity-based funds were performing poorly nudged crude oil prices to less than $90 per barrel Wednesday in New York. Crude oil prices gave up $1.59 and were $89.78 per barrel in early trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The dollar index rose 0.36 percent to 79.95 on the International Exchange, providing some pressure on prices. A report published by the Commodity Mercantile Exchange Group suggested investors steer away from commodity-based funds, which weren't performing as well as direct futures investments. Natural gas added 4.8 cents to $2.972 per million British thermal units. Home heating oil lost 3.19 cents to $3.0767 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 4.94 cents to $3.0165 per gallon. At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.805 per gallon, down from Tuesday's $3.81, AAA reported.