Oil, gasoline and heating oil end down

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- Crude oil closed down on the New York Mercantile Exchange after reports Turkish troops were withdrawing from Iraq quieted fears of a tight oil supply.

Crude oil ended the session down 14 cents to $90.49 per barrel on the exchange.

"The market reversed on the news that Turkey is withdrawing its troops," said Phil Flynn, vice president of futures brokerage Alaron Trading. "The market went up early on fears the incursion was going to spark a wider conflict."

Turkish troops entered northern Iraq early Tuesday in a raid against militant Kurdish rebels, the BBC reported. Turkey began conducting bombing missions during the weekend.

On the mercantile exchange, gasoline fell 3.11 cents to end the session at $2.3043 a gallon and heating oil lost 4.25 cents a gallon to close at $2.5554.

The energy winner was natural gas, which posted a 10.1-cent gain at $7.136 per per 1,000 cubic feet, a gain of 0.015 cent.

At the pump, the average cost of a gallon of unleaded gasoline was $2.992, down slightly from $2.996 a gallon on Monday.