US crude oil tops $92

Crude oil prices topped $92 per barrel Tuesday morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange, as traders expect bullish stockpile reports this week. Traders expect refineries will allow inventories to drop in anticipation of spring maintenance projects. The end of winter is a transition period as the demand focus switches from heating oil products to motor gasoline with spring driving ahead. West Texas Intermediate crude oil for April deliver gained 28 cents overnight to $92.07 per barrel. Gasoline lost 0.93 cents to settle at $3.1463 a gallon. Home heating oil added 0.58 cents to reach $2.9662 a gallon. Natural gas added 1.5 cents to hit $3.66 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline rose from Monday's $3.696 per gallon to $3.703, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.