Crude oil holds steady near $80

West Texas Intermediate crude oil held close to $80 per barrel Wednesday with traders awaiting news from the European Union, where a summit begins Thursday. The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone remains the dominant news factor, but supply concerns are also defining the pricing environment. The international oil purchase embargo against Iran officially begins July 1. In addition, Iran has said its production would drop 20 percent to 30 percent beginning July 1, as the country is making do by scheduling oil industry maintenance projects to coincide with the embargo. In New York, crude oil for August delivery added 28 cents to $80.51 per barrel, breaking above $80 per barrel for the first time in the past six consecutive trading session. Home heating oil added 0.46 cents to reach $2.5948 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline gained 0.85 cents to $2.5074 per gallon. Natural gas for July delivery shed 3.5 cents to $2.763 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $3.383 Wednesday from Tuesday's $3.397, AAA said.