Crude oil tops $101 per barrel

Crude oil prices edged higher Tuesday morning in New York, topping $101 per barrel as the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.4 percent in January. U.S. retail made comeback from December, where the 0.1 percent gain previously reported was revised lower to "unchanged." Light, sweet, West Texas Intermediate crude lifted above a recent range between $97 and $101 per barrel to reach $101.20 per barrel. Home heating oil lost 0.51 cents to $3.154 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline shed 0.85 cents to reach $3.004 per gallon. Henry Hub natural gas prices added 3.7 cents to $2.468 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose to $3.513 per gallon Tuesday from Monday's $3.511, AAA said.