Crude oil holds steady at less than $80

West Texas Intermediate crude oil held to less than $80 per barrel Wednesday with traders awaiting news from the European Union, where a summit begins Thursday. The sovereign debt crisis in the eurozone remains the dominant news factor, but supply concerns are also defining the pricing environment. The international oil purchase embargo against Iran officially begins July 1. In addition, Iran has said its production would drop 20 percent to 30 percent beginning July 1, as the country is making do by scheduling oil industry maintenance projects to coincide with the embargo. In New York, crude oil for August delivery added 33 cents to $79.69 per barrel, as oil held to less than $80 per barrel for the fifth consecutive trading session. Home heating oil lost 0.11 cents to reach $2.5721 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline shed 0.56 cents to $2.5173 per gallon. Natural gas for July delivery rose 1.34 cents to $2.941 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline fell to $3.383 Wednesday from Tuesday's $3.397, AAA said.