Crude oil prices fall slightly

New York -- U.S. stockpiles of crude oil and gasoline rose during the week ending Feb. 22, mitigating a gain in crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Crude oil prices rallied late in the day adding 21 cents to hit $99.85 per barrel. But prices dropped from early Wednesday prices of 101.11 per barrel.

Heating oil prices also rose 4.4 cents on the exchange to $2.7755 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices gained slightly, up 0.13 cents to $2.479 per gallon.

Natural gas prices also fell during the day, but gained 6 cents late Wednesday to $8.99 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for unleaded regular gasoline in the United States rose to $3.152 per gallon, up from Tuesday's price of $3.142 per gallon, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.