Oil prices break new ground

NEW YORK, March 10 (UPI) -- Oil prices broke into new territory on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, closing 2.6 percent higher on the day.

Crude oil jumped after a brief lull in price increases that occurred last week when oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced they would keep production steady for the time being.

On Monday, the price of crude gained $3.78 per barrel to $108.21 per barrel, before settling down to $107.95 in afternoon trading.

The price of heating oil gained 0.0103 cents per gallon in late trading to $2.9837 per gallon.

Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices gained 0.0026 cents to $2.7175 per gallon.

Natural gas prices also gained, up 0.008 cents to $10.032 cents per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the surging price of crude oil has pushed the national average price to a near record. The AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said the national average price of a gallon of unleaded reached $3.222 per gallon, up from Sunday's average price of $3.215 per gallon.