Crude oil gains a little back

NEW YORK, June 12 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices made a slight comeback on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, topping $83 per barrel.

Crude oil dropped sharply Monday after the White House said the market could tolerate less oil from Iran due to slower demand and increased production from some oil-producing states.

In addition, Saudi Arabia, the largest producer among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, said Monday production quotas should be lifted, a proposal that would likely clash with supply hawks pushing for tight quotas to keep prices high.

On Monday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for July delivery in New York added 18 cents to $83.50 per barrel. Crude oil ranged from a low of $81.07 to $83.72 through the day.

Natural gas shed 1.7 cents to hit $2.215 per million British thermal units.

Home heating oil rose 0.74 cents to $2.6289 per gallon.

Gasoline moved 0.67 cents higher to reach $2.6569 a gallon.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.542 per gallon from Monday's $3.54, AAA said.