WTI closes above $70 per barrel

Crude oil prices closed above $70 Tuesday and rose to a year-to-date high at $70.18 in afternoon trade in New York, but pump prices held steady at $2.619 per gallon on average nationally in the US in the same week that last year saw retail prices jump above $4 for the first time ever.

West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery added $1.92 to $70.01 per barrel at the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while the price for Brent crude remained below the $70 per barrel mark as it traded $1.30 higher to $69.18 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Analysts pointed out that demand remains weak as gasoline prices have risen 40 cents in the past month, that refiners have begun produce more gasoline recently, and that stockpiles of crude oil remain at near-record high levels and are expected to have risen by nearly a million more barrels last week when the Energy Information Administration releases its weekly inventories report tomorrow.

Nymex July gasoline futures were up 3 cents to $1.84 per gallon during the session while July heating oil gained 4 cents to $1.81 per gallon.