Crude oil stays on $102 plateau in New York market

Crude oil prices stayed on the $102 per barrel plateau Wednesday in New York with an inventory build coming in shy of expectations. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said inventories rose by 100,000 barrels in the week to 362.4 million barrels. Traders had expected a gain of about 1.1 million barrels. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil gained 45 cents to reach $102.51 per barrel. Natural gas gave up 14 cents to settle at $4.86 per million British thermal units. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices dropped 0.26 cents to end at $2.7955 per gallon. Heating oil prices finished the day at $3.1261 per gallon, up 1.71 cents. At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded rose from Tuesday's $3.426 per gallon to $3.432, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.