Oil prices slide to less than $81

Crude oil prices dropped to less than $81 per barrel in New York Thursday morning after a U.S. Federal Reserve stimulus measure failed to spur equities. Stocks moved slightly higher Wednesday after the Fed announced it would continue its bond swap measure called operation twist through the end of the year. But the movement was slight as investors mostly shrugged off the news. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery gave up 85 cents to reach $80.60 per barrel. Natural gas for July delivery added 1.6 cents to hit $2.533 per million British thermal units. Home heating oil shed 0.64 cents to $2.5782 per gallon. Gasoline moved higher, adding 2.4 cents to reach $2.5097 a gallon. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline lost a penny, dropping to $3.472 per gallon from Tuesday's $3.487, AAA said.