Energy Prices Move Up; Crude Oil Tops $78, Tuesday, July 31, 2007 2:42:03 PM

Energy prices were higher on Tuesday in New York. Crude oil moved to a yearly high and within 12 cents of the record best set last July. Heating oil and gasoline also climbed, while natural gas declined.

Crude oil climbed above $78 per barrel on Monday in U.S. trading and reached a yearly high. Light sweet crude oil was at $78.17, up $1.34 in the afternoon. Oil got as high as $78.28 at 2:15 p.m. before slipping in the next five minutes. The record high of $78.40 was reached in July of 2006. Traders await Wednesday`s inventory report.

Natural gas was down in U.S. trading on Tuesday, moving away from a 10-day high. September-dated natural gas dropped in early trading and trending down through mid-day trading. It traded at $6.19, down 30.9 cents. It had been trending up for the last several days.

Heating oil moved up in U.S. trading on Tuesday, adding 4.09 cents to deal at $2.124. Prices opened higher and continued to rise through mid-day activity. It was flat in the afternoon until spiking up at around 2:25 p.m.

Gasoline prices were up in U.S. trading on Tuesday, adding 4.78 cents to deal at $2.107. Trading has been range-bound for several days.

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