Oil tops $100 at trading's close

Crude oil prices bounded over $100 in trading Monday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, gaining $5.37 to close at $102.55 a barrel. Capital Economics analysts said they expect crude prices to drop to $90 a barrel by the end of the year, MarketWatch.com reported. "We expect oil to fall further as the global economy slows, the dollar continues to rebound, and the risk premium due to unrest in the Middle East eventually fades, taking prices back below $90 per barrel by year-end," analysts said in a note. Gasoline added 19 cents to close at $3.28 per gallon. Natural gas lost 8 cents to $4.15 per million British thermal units. Home heating oil settled 12 cents higher at $2.96 a gallon. At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.96, down from Friday's $3.984, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said. Copyright 2011 United Press International, Inc. (UPI). Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.