Crude oil tops $102

Crude oil prices topped $102 per barrel Thursday on basic supply and demand dynamics. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that U.S. supplies declined slightly in the week, falling by 200,000 barrels of oil to 339.1 million and remain in the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. On Thursday, demand appeared as equities turned higher on news that first-time jobless benefit claims, at 348,000 in the week, were lower they have been since 2008. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, light, sweet, West Texas Intermediate crude added 52 cents to $102.28 per barrel. Home heating oil gave up 0.48 cents to $3.2049 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline shed 0.91 cents to $3.038 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices lost 1.5 cents to $2.552 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline climbed to $3.523 per gallon Thursday from Wednesday's $3.518, AAA said.