Crude oil prices rise toward $88

Crude oil peaked at $88.21 and hit a low for the session at $86.10 per barrel. By day's end, the settlement price was at $87.81 per barrel, up $1.09, on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Heating oil prices were unchanged, matching the previous day's settlement of $2.4419 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices were down 0.62 cents to $2.23 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices gained 1.6 cents to $4.255 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline reached $2.863 per gallon from Tuesday's $2.857, AAA said.

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