Crude oil holds at $86

WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held steady at $86 a barrel Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, despite market pressure from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The spill that began with an oil rig explosion April 20, that killed 11, has increased concern that Gulf of Mexico supplies could be disrupted.

June contract crude oil rose early, then settled on the $86 per barrel mark. Natural gas futures for June added 0.081 cents to $4.001 per million British thermal units.

Home heating oil gained 0.0179 cents to $2.3336.

Reformulated gasoline blendstock added 0.019 cents to $2.4184.

At the pump, the national average price for unleaded gasoline was $2.895 per gallon Monday, up from Sunday's $2.883, AAA said.