US crude oil settles back Monday

Crude oil prices settled at less than $107 per barrel Monday in New York on weak mixed economic data. A quarterly survey found optimism had increased among business economists in the second quarter, but the National Association of Realtors said sales of existing homes slipped in June while prices continued to escalate. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.23 to $106.64 per barrel. Reformulated blendstock gasoline shed 6.99 cents to $3.0535 per gallon. Home heating oil was at $3.0666 per gallon, off 2.28 cents. Natural gas lost 10.4 cents to $3.685 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded regular gasoline was unchanged from Sunday at $3.671, the AAA Fuel Gauge report said.