Crude oil climbs, retail gasoline jumps

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NEW YORK, Jan. 30 (UPI) -- The price of crude oil pushed higher Wednesday, adding 80 cents to $97.96 per barrel in New York.

NYMEX crude oil is near a four-month high. Pressured by the steady climb in recent weeks, gasoline prices at the pump gained 3 cents Tuesday to Wednesday, a steep jump for a 24-hour cycle.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, reformulated blendstock gasoline added 7.57 cents to $3.0202 a gallon. Home heating oil gained 4.66 cents to $3.1125 a gallon.

Natural gas added 7.8 cent to $3.333 per million British thermal units.

At gas stations, AAA reported the national average retail price for regular unleaded gasoline hit $3.394 per gallon up from Tuesday's $3.364.