Middle East tensions push oil prices

Crude oil prices in New York settled slightly Monday morning, easing back to $102.83 per barrel from an earlier peak of $103.22. Prices soared to a 14-month high during the weekend, as political tension in Egypt continued to shake confidence in consistent supplies from the Middle East. In price movement Monday, reformulated blendstock gasoline lost 2.06 cents to $2.8762 per gallon. Home heating oil shed 1.47 cents to reach $2.975 per gallon. Natural gas added 11.2 cents to $3.729 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.474, unchanged from Sunday and down slightly from $3.487 a week ago, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said.