Crude oil prices steady Wednesday

Traders are waiting for an afternoon report on U.S. energy stockpiles and keeping an eye on weather reports that presume a seasonal increase in a demand for heating oil.

January delivery light, sweet crude oil in New York added 2 cents overnight to $88.71 per barrel. Heating oil prices rose 0.38 cents to $2.474 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock prices lost 0.2 cents to $2.321 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices added 15.9 cents to $4.552 per million British thermal units.

At the retail level, the national average price of unleaded gasoline at gas stations added one penny, rising from $2.958 per gallon to $2.968, AAA said.

Copyright 2010 United Press International, Inc. (UPI).