Crude oil prices swing up

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices rose on the New York Mercantile Exchange Monday after an OPEC leader warned of steep production cuts.

Chakib Khelil, president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said the next round of quota cuts could be "severe," The Wall Street Journal reported.

OPEC members reduced production quotas by 1.5 million barrels a day in October. In spite of the cuts, oil prices have continued to fall.

But crude oil prices rose $2.33 a barrel to $43.99 per barrel Monday. Heating oil prices rose 0.0513 cents to $1.44 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline rose 0.0405 cents to 0.9605 cents per gallon. Natural gas prices fell 0.121 cents to $5.62 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline fell from Sunday's $1.733 per gallon to $1.716 a gallon, AAA said.