Crude oil gets a lift from PMI data

NEW YORK, Aug. 22 (UPI) -- Crude oil for October recovered some lost ground Thursday, topping $105 per barrel, as business indexes showed growth in China, Europe and the United States.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index for the United States climbed slightly to 53.9 in August. In the eurozone, the composite PMI for service and manufacturing firms reached 51 in a flash estimate. In China, the flash estimate of its manufacturing PMI came to 50.1.

Flash estimates can be revised at a later date. But all the data pointed to growth, as figures above 50 show growth, while below 50 indicates a contraction.

Xinhua reported that stockpiles of gasoline and distillate fuels dropped in July in China. Gasoline stockpiles fell 7.2 percent from June, Xinhua reported.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude added $1.20 to reach $105.05 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 2.24 cents to reach $2.8408 per gallon. Home heating oil lost 0.52 cents to reach $3.0763 per gallon.

Natural gas gained 7.5 cents to $3.535 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was $3.534, up from Wednesday's $3.533, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said.