Crude Oil Prices Jump $1.66 Per Barrel

Crude oil prices jumped significantly Monday to more than $93 a barrel on top of a more than $3.50 per barrel jump Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The price jumped $1.66 per barrel Monday on news that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez threatened to cut off supplies to the United States after Exxon Mobile Corp. was able to secure court orders to freeze $12 billion in Petroleos de Venezuela’s foreign assets. Crude supplies have also been threatened given the outbreak of violence in Nigeria, a major exporter.

The price of crude Monday hit $93.43 a barrel.

Heating oil prices on the exchange also rose, hitting $2.6075 per gallon, up 0.31 cents on late trading.

Prices for reformulated gasoline blendstock declined late in the day to $2.3960 per gallon, down 0.02 cents.

Natural gas prices dropped 2.7 cents late in the day to $8.504 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the U.S. average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.953 per gallon Monday, down from Sunday’s $2.957 per gallon, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said.