Crude prices down in volatile trade

On a day when options allowing investors to bet on whether oil prices will go up or down expired, crude oil prices were down after early gains in volatile trade.

West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery was as high as $126.64 per barrel, short of Tuesday’s record high, and as low as $120.75 per barrel before settling at $122.90 per barrel, down $1.32 per barrel at the end of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In addition, the June contract expires next week, also adding the potential for volatility in prices.

June contracts for Brent crude dropped 76 cents to $121.10 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex June natural gas also saw declines, falling nearly 27 cents to $11.33 per 1,000 cubic feet after inventories grew by 93 billion cubic feet last week.

Nymex June gasoline was down 4 cents to $3.14 per gallon while June heating oil was nearly 2 cents lower to $3.60 per gallon.

Meanwhile, at-the-pump prices in the United States were up again overnight, with regular unleaded gasoline adding 1.8 cents to $3.776 per gallon and diesel fuel up 3.6 cents to $4.455 per gallon.