Crude oil price climbs sharply

NEW YORK, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices surged to nearly $80 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday despite the government saying stockpiles remain high.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude oil inventories were above the upper limit of the average level for this time of year. Crude oil stockpiles added 800,000 barrels to reach 339.9 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 23.

But prices surged along with equities after the Commerce Department said the gross domestic product rose 3.5 percent in the third quarter.

On Thursday, prices climbed $2.41 cents to $79.87 per barrel. Heating oil prices added 0.0573 cents to $2.0542 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices gained 0.0326 cents to $2.019 per gallon. Natural gas prices shed 0.004 cents to $5.062 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose from Wednesday's $2.683 per gallon to $2.691 per gallon, AAA said.