NEW YORK, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held above $77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Wednesday on new found confidence in a U.S. economic recovery.
Crude oil prices slumped between a recent spike in late December and Friday, when the Commerce Department announced the fourth quarter gross domestic product rose 5.7 percent. It has been all uphill from there.
In the latest upswing, the prices of March delivery light, sweet crude gained 23 cents overnight to reach $77.46 per barrel. Heating oil prices added 0.008 cents to $2.0397 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0069 cents to $2.0386 per gallon. Natural gas prices gained 0.06 cents to $5.514 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.656 per gallon Wednesday, down from Tuesday's $2.661, AAA said.
