A Citizen’s Guide

Alaska North Slope crude slipped below $70 per barrel on Wednesday, joining other crude types in a downward trend. North Slope crude closed at $69.32 per barrel, down from $71 on Tuesday.

Here’s a little bit of what the AP had to say today about oil prices:

Oil prices extended their slide Thursday as the market adjusted to U.S. government data showing higher crude oil and gas inventories and positive developments in Iran.

“It’s correction day,” said Victor Shum, energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

Light sweet crude for July delivery fell 29 cents to $70.53 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, midmorning in Singapore. A day earlier, prices had fallen 2 percent after U.S. government data showed rising domestic inventories of crude oil and gasoline.

The rise in U.S. inventories and the easing tensions over Iran’s nuclear program were driving prices down, Shum said.