Crude prices fall after topping $70 per barrel

Crude oil prices were lower just before the close of floor trade in New York on Friday after rising earlier to above the $70 level for the first time this year.

July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were 21 cents lower at $68.60 per barrel a few minutes before the close on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude had dropped 11 cents, also to $68.60 per barrel at last report on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Earlier in New York Trade, WTI traded as high as $70.32 per barrel, its highest price since October.

The retail price of gasoline in the US was also up, gaining another 2 cents overnight to $2.592 per gallon on average nationally.

Despite recent gains, the price of crude oil is still more than 50 percent less than it was when prices peaked last July, while even with its nearly 50 cent rise in the past month, at-the-pump prices in the US are still nearly $1.40 lower than their peak last year.