WTI rises above $70 per barrel before falling back slightly

West Texas Intermediate crude oil rose above $70 per barrel for the first time since August 2006 on Thursday and narrowed the spread between the price of WTI and Brent crude to 96 cents after having been as high as $7.34 per barrel last month. August contracts for WTI added as much as $1.20 to trade at $70.17 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange during the session. However, by mid-afternoon in New York, the price for WTI had dropped back to $69.58 per barrel, still up by 61 cents. Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange added 60 cents on the session to trade at $71.13 per barrel.

Nymex gasoline was also higher, trading at $2.21 per gallon at mid-afternoon in New York, while heating oil was up to $2.03 per gallon. However, natural gas prices were lower after new inventories figures that showed US stockpiles up by 99 billion cubic feet last week. Nymex August Henry Hub traded at $6.66 per million British thermal units by mid-afternoon in New York.