Crude oil price futures held steady overnight at $102 per barrel as equities faltered in Asia and Europe and U.S. stockpiles rose in the week.
Uneven government bond auctions in Spain and France undermined investor confidence, putting weight on commodities. In Washington, the Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. stockpiles of crude oil rose by 9 million barrels in the week to 362.4 million barrels, a larger upturn than expected.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, May delivery crude oil added 0.47 cents to $101.94 per barrel. Home heating oil shed 1.14 cents to $3.1495 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline shed 2.82 cents to $3.3054 per gallon.
Natural gas prices added 0.1 cents to $2.142 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.936 per gallon, up from Wednesdayā€¯s $3.928, AAA said.
