US crude oil up nearly 50 cents toward $93

The price of a barrel of crude oil rose nearly a half-dollar Friday, moving toward $93 a barrel in light post-Thanksgiving trading in New York. January crude advanced 48 cents, or 0.6 percent, on the New York Mercantile Exchange to settle at $92.78 a barrel after settling at a near six-month low Wednesday. January Brent crude slid $1.17, or 1.1 percent, to end at $109.69 a barrel on London's ICE Futures Europe exchange. Brent light sweet crude is up 0.8 percent this month. With New York's price rise and London's slip, Brent's premium over the Nymex contract narrowed to near $17 a barrel. The gap was as wide as $19.40 a barrel Wednesday. Trading volume was lighter than normal, with the Nymex closing an hour early. December reformulated gasoline blendstock fell 1.42 cents, or 0.5 percent, at $2.684 a gallon. The more actively traded January contract slipped 3.18 cents, or 1.2 percent, at $2.663 a gallon. December heating oil rose 0.09 cents, or 3 percent, at $3.048 a gallon, while the January contract shed 1.22 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $3.0308 a gallon. Natural gas jumped to a five-month high in New York on forecasts a colder-than-usual winter would spur heating demand. Gas for January delivery climbed 5.9 cents, or 1.5 percent, on the Nymex to end at $3.954 per million British thermal units, the highest settlement price since June 19. The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline slipped a hair to $3.279 a gallon from Thursday's $3.283 a gallon, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.