Crude oil prices jump on supply tensions

NEW YORK, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday on tensions in the Middle East and a natural gas supply disruption in Europe.

Russian energy giant Gazprom has reduced natural gas supplies flowing through a Ukrainian pipeline, claiming Ukraine owes more than $600 million on its gas bill. The disruption has rippled through Europe, as the pipeline is also responsible for a major share of European supplies.

Crude oil prices gained $2.11 to $50.44 per barrel. Heating oil prices gained 0.0598 cents to $1.6263 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline rose 0.0134 cents to $1.1892 per gallon. Natural gas prices fell 0.114 cents to $5.983 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $1.688 Tuesday, up 1.6 cents from Monday's $1.672 a gallon, AAA said.