NEW YORK, March 9 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices settled under $81 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday as the U.S. dollar index rose 0.3 percent.
Traders are anticipating a rise in crude oil inventories that usually precedes the increase in driving that comes with warmer weather. Higher inventories puts pressure on oil prices.
April delivery light, sweet crude shed $1.05 to $80.82 per barrel after a peak close to $82 per barrel in overnight trading. Heating oil prices lost 0.0224 cents to $2.0831 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock fell 0.0377 cents to $2.2515 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices rose 0.053 cents to $4.58 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.759 per gallon Tuesday, up from Monday's $2.753, AAA said.
