Crude oil inches toward $96

Crude oil prices climbed to nearly $96 per barrel Monday morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange as traders viewed Friday's employment report as positive. With figures that beat expectations, the U.S. Labor Department said 165,000 jobs were added to the economy in April and the jobless rate dropped from 7.6 percent to 7.5 percent, the lowest level in five years. West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 53 cents to reach $95.97 per barrel. Gasoline prices added 5.9 cents to $2.8778 a gallon. Home heating oil gained 1.07 cents to $2.89 a gallon. Natural gas shed 3.4 cents to $4.017 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.521 Monday, up from Sunday's $3.52, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said.