WTI closes above $71 in New York

The price of crude oil jumped Monday on the news that China said it will increase its oil reserves and after rebels in Nigeria attacked another oil instillation.

There were reports that China will up its strategic oil reserves by 60 percent.

Meanwhile, a militant group attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil platform in the Delta region of Nigeria.

A Shell official confirmed the attack and said that some output had been shut down due to the new violence, which has been going on for several years.

August contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added $2.33 to $71.49 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude added $2.07 to $70.99 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex July gasoline was up 6 cents to $1.94 per gallon and August heating oil jumped 5 cents to $1.83 per gallon, while August natural gas dropped 16 cents to $3.94 per million British thermal units.

While crude oil prices and gasoline futures were up, the average retail price of gasoline in the United States fell 0.4 cent overnight to $2.639 per gallon on average nationally, bringing the series of declines to just over a week after gains over the past couple of months.