NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices remained elevated in New York, holding above $81 per barrel after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said demand was rising.
In a monthly market report, OPEC forecast oil demand would increase by 900,000 barrels per in 2010. The forecast was based on world economic growth of 3.4 percent this year, after a 0.9 percent contraction in 2009.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, April delivery, light, sweet crude oil shed 14 cents from a recent peak, to $81.35 per barrel, as prices maintain a holding pattern above $75 established in late December.
Heating oil prices recently tracked higher, adding 0.0002 cents to $2.09 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices rose 0.0028 cents to $2.2631 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices lost 0.03 cents to $4.486 per million British thermal units.
At the retail level, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.768 per gallon Wednesday, up from Tuesday's $2.759, AAA said.
