Crude Oil Prices Near $100 Per Barrel

Crude oil prices gained slightly Wednesday morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $100.16 a barrel on a day oil ministers began a conference in Austria.

Analysts say ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will likely keep production steady, as rising prices would accelerate if production were cut.

Prices of oil gained 64 cents in early trading, reaching $100.16 per barrel.

Heating oil prices also gained slightly, up 0.034 cents per gallon, to reach $2.5601 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices also gained, up 0.031 cents to $2.5601 per gallon.

Natural gas prices rose marginally, up 0.102 cents to $9.4555 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said the national average price of a gallon of unleaded jumped from Tuesday’s price of $3.168 per gallon to $3.178 per gallon Wednesday.