Two companies lowered their crude oil prices.

In Radnor, Pa., Sun Co. slashed the price it will pay for West Texas Intermediate--the benchmark U.S. crude--by 75 cents to $27 a barrel, undercutting the rest of the oil industry. In Dallas, Diamond Shamrock reduced its buying price for West Texas Intermediate by 25 cents to $27.50 a barrel and marked down six other grades by 25 cents, retroactive to Jan. 10. On Tuesday, Phillips Petroleum lowered the price it will pay for West Texas Intermediate by 50 cents to $27.25 a barrel. In addition, the Soviet Union proposed a $2-a-barrel cut on its crude exports to Western Europe.