Crude oil holds close to $79

West Texas Intermediate crude oil held near $79 per barrel Monday, with traders uncertain a fix would be found for Europe's debt crisis. Crude oil for August delivery hit a trading session low of $78.03 before climbing back to $79.21 in New York. Home heating oil added 0.43 cents to reach $2.5391 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 3.64 cents to $2.504 per gallon. Natural gas for July delivery shed 3.7 cents to $2.657 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline dropped to $3.411 Monday from Sunday's $3.42, AAA said.