Crude oil climbs above $86

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NEW YORK, Dec. 12 (UPI) -- An increased demand estimate helped push crude oil prices above $86 per barrel in New York Wednesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration's monthly report pushed its demand estimate for 2013 to 90.5 million barrels per day.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil gained 98 cents to $86.77 per barrel. Home heating oil gained 0.3 cents to reach $2.9698 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 0.1 cents to $2.6475 a gallon. Natural gas gained 1.9 cents to $3.401 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, AAA reported a national average price for regular unleaded gasoline at $3.315 per gallon, down from Tuesday's $3.328.