Iran sanctions push crude oil prices

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NEW YORK, Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices moved toward $100 per barrel in New York Monday as the European Union agreed on sanctions for Iran over a suspected nuclear weapons program.

The news is not a surprise, which means the supply difficulties that could result have mostly been priced into the market. CNN said 18 percent of Iran's 2.2 million of oil exported per day goes to European markets.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 22 cents to reach $99.80 per barrel. Home heating oil prices added 1.04 cents to $3.0139 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices rose 0.85 cents to $2.7941 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices added 5.2 cents to $2.577 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline dropped to $3.383 per gallon from Sunday's $3.385, AAA said.