Crude oil prices climb slightly

Manufacturing activity surged in China in October with the Purchasing Manager's Index climbing from 52.9 to 54.8. On Wednesday, China said its trade surplus soared in October to $27.1 billion from $16.9 billion in September.

World leaders at the Group of 20 Nations summit in Seoul are concerned about massive trade imbalances, but little progress is expected. For now China's strength is a dominant factor in commodities pricing and that is expected to continue at least through 2035, a recent International Energy Agency report said.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said U.S. crude oil inventories fell by 3.3 million barrels to 364.9 million in the week ending Nov. 5.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, December delivery crude oil added 10 cents to $87.91 per barrel. Heating oil prices lost 0.22 cents to $2.4397 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices shed 0.07 cents to $2.2355 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices shed 1.9 cents to $4.027 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose slightly to $2.864 per gallon from Wednesday's $3.863, AAA said.

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