Crude oil prices slide Monday

NEW YORK, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices fell below $78 per barrel Monday as equities rose on Wall Street and the dollar traded lower against the euro and the yen.

It was a day of contrary behavior for oil markets, which generally see price increases as the dollar falls. In addition, gains in the stock market generally provide confidence in commodity trades.

But the price of light, sweet crude lost $1.09 Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange to $77.45 per barrel. Heating oil prices lost 0.0012 cents to $1.9744 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices slid 0.0036 cents to $1.977 per gallon. Natural gas prices added 0.046 cents to $4.47 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline was $2.64 per gallon Monday, down from Sunday's $2.641, AAA said.