Crude oil prices up on Mideast tension

NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Tension in Israel helped boost crude oil prices Friday.

Shaul Mofaz, seen as a possible future leader of Israel, called Iran's nuclear program "an existential threat," setting off worries of a confrontation that could disrupt Middle East oil supplies, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"We have to make sure we are prepared for every option," Mofaz said.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil prices rose $1.84 Friday to $124.98 per barrel. Heating oil prices fell 0.0006 cents in late trading to $3.4362 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.0032 cents to $3.0875 per gallon. Natural gas prices also rose, up 0.007 cents to $9.396 per million British thermal units.

The national average retail price of unleaded gasoline also edged lower Friday, down 0.011 cents to $3.898 per gallon, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.