Oil prices steady before OPEC meeting

Weakness from outside financial markets also weighed on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders focused on Saturday's Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries meeting in Ecuador and Chinese inflation.

Prices for light sweet crude flirted with $89 a barrel before falling back to $87.81, off 0.56 on the day. Henry Hub natural gas fell 0.01 cent to $4.25 per million British thermal units while heating oil lost 0.0089 to $2.4561. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices eased back 0.0265 cent to $2.3140 per gallon.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline climbed to $2.977 per gallon from Thursday's $2.975, AAA said.

Few expect OPEC oil ministers to change production quotas at their meeting. A month ago, oil ministers said crude priced in the $70 to $90 per barrel range was acceptable, The Wall Street Journal reported.

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