Oil prices make gains Monday

NEW YORK, June 2 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices posted gains on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday, but advanced at a relatively modest pace compared with recent price shifts.

Crude oil prices rose more than $5 per barrel on May 22, peaking at a record of more than $135 per barrel.

Prices have since settled in the $130 per barrel range.

"The market's consolidating the recent gains for the time being. We could see another leg down in prices," Wachovia Securities energy analyst told The Wall Street Journal Monday.

On the exchange, crude oil prices rose $1.47 Monday to $127.70 per barrel. The price of heating oil fell 0.002 cents in late trading to $3.72 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0005 cents to $3.3912 per gallon. Natural gas prices rose 0.051 cents to $12.02 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline reached $3.975, unchanged from Sunday's price, but up 0.013 cents from Friday and up 0.811 cents per gallon from a year ago, AAA said.