Crude prices rise on OPEC decision

Crude oil prices rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange after OPEC oil ministers in Vienna elected to keep production quotas unchanged.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said in a statement that world markets remain over-supplied. But changing quotas risked jeopardizing an economic recovery, OPEC said.

Given the downside risks associated with the extremely fragile recovery, the Conference once again agreed to leave current production levels unchanged, the statement said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet crude rose 65 cents to $71.96 per barrel. Heating oil prices rose 0.0046 cents to $1.799 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices rose 0.0031 cents to $1.8312 per gallon. Natural gas prices added 0.028 cents to $2.857 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.576 per gallon Thursday, up from Wednesday’s $2.573, AAA said.