NEW YORK, July 29 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held under $77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday after a stock report said inventories surged in the latest week.
U.S. oil supplies rose a jolting 7.3 million barrels in the week ending July 23, the Energy Information Administration said.
Crude oil prices, hovering last week near $80 per barrel, did most of their adjusting Wednesday. Overnight, prices for September delivery crude held at a new level, off 8 cents to $76.91 per barrel Thursday morning.
August contract No. 2 heating oil prices rose overnight, adding 0.0062 cents to $2.0026 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline for August delivery gained 0.0015 cents to $2.0649 per gallon.
Henry Hub natural gas prices for September rose 0.089 cents to $4.807 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $2.744 Thursday, off 0.001 cents from Wednesday's $2.745 per gallon, AAA said.
