Crude oil prices approach $60 per barrel

Crude oil prices approached $60 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, as commodities continue to track an upswing in equity markets.

Crude oil prices rose $1.09 overnight, reaching $59.59 per barrel. Heating oil prices gained 0.0222 cents to $1.5231 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline rose 0.0081 cents to $1.6883 per gallon. Natural gas prices gained 0.165 cents to $4.467 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $2.248 Tuesday, up from Monday’s $2.226 a gallon, AAA said.