Crude Oil Prices Level off on Friday

New York -- The price of crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange leveled off at more than $105 a barrel Friday morning.

After rising more than $5 per barrel Wednesday, the price of crude oil has found a temporary resting ground, moving marginally since Thursday. In early Friday trading, oil prices declined 17 cents to $105.30 a barrel.

The price of heating oil on the exchange dropped 0.009 cents Friday to $2.964 per gallon.

The price of reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 0.0125 cents to reach $2.6657 per gallon.

Natural gas prices rose 0.078 cents to $9.820 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of a gallon of unleaded gasoline in the United States climbed to $3.189 per gallon, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said, up from Thursday's price of $3.185 per gallon. The national average price a year ago was $2.507 per gallon.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.