Crude oil prices gain on Fed move

Investors have been anticipating a new round of Fed bond purchasing since August when Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke began hinting more purchases were a possibility.

The surprise for the day was how much the Fed said it would invest. Policymakers choose to target $600 billion in long-term bond investments through the second quarter of 2011.

December delivery crude oil added $1.13 on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $85.03 per barrel. Heating oil prices rose 3.59 cents to $2.3295 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline blendstock gained 3.14 cents to $2.141 per gallon.

Henry Hub natural gas prices dropped 1.5 cents to $3.855 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline dropped under Tuesday's $2.80 to $2.799 per gallon, AAA said.

Copyright 2010 United Press International