Crude oil at $103 and hovering

NEW YORK, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices dropped close to $103 per barrel Monday in New York as traders focus on gridlock in Washington.

The price of West Texas Intermediate sweet, light crude oil has settled down from more than $110, where it peaked in response to tensions related to a possible U.S. military strike in Syria.

Oil was seeking a new pricing range when the partial government shutdown began.

With the shutdown now into a second business week, traders are reacting to Washington one comment at a time, industry analyst Dominick Chirichella said.

"For now the dysfunction in Washington D.C. continues with no end in sight. I expect the markets will continue to be driven in the short term by the 30 second news snippets hitting the media airwaves about the U.S. government shutdown and debt ceiling," Chirichella wrote.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil priced in New York lost 77 cents to $103.07 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices added 2.08 cents to $2.6284 per gallon. Home heating oil gained 0.87 cents to $3.0077 per gallon. Natural gas added 13 cents to reach $3.63 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $3.346 per gallon from Sunday's $3.35, AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.