Crude oil higher with support from equities in New York

Crude oil prices topped $92 per barrel Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange with equities regaining some momentum on Wall Street. Equities rose after the Census Bureau reported a solid 0.2 percent month to month gain in the retail sector in December, twice the gain that was expected. Automobile sales, however, declined November to December. With that data excluded, the rest of retail rose 0.7 percent. NYMEX light, sweet crude oil added 73 cents to hit $92.53 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices shed 1.89 cents to $2.6152 a gallon. Home heating oil added 0.45 cents to $2.9378 a gallon. Natural gas added 9 cents to hit $4.37 per million British thermal units. The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline dropped to $3.308 per gallon from Monday's $3.312, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.