Crude oil hangs near $90

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NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices hovered near $90 per barrel Monday, as equities were slightly lower on Wall Street.

A lack of major economic reports held markets steady, but energy prices are finding support from expectations that the European Central Bank is planning to purchasing bonds from struggling eurozone countries, particularly Spain and Italy. This had triggered a sell-off of U.S. dollars at the tail end of the previous week. On Monday, the dollar was mostly higher in Asia, mostly lower in Europe.

Crude oil prices were recently correcting lower on the New York Mercantile Exchange with September delivery West Texas Intermediate crude oil dropping 27 cents to to $89.51 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 1.04 cents to $2.8071 per gallon. Home heating oil slipped to $2.875 per gallon, off 0.64 cents.

Natural gas was at $3.217 per million British thermal units, up 20.2 cents.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose slightly to $3.486 per gallon from Sunday's $3.485, AAA said.