Oil holds above $86 in New York

Crude oil prices held above $86 per barrel in New York Thursday, held in check by a slight increase in the U.S. stockpile. The U.S. Energy Information Administration's monthly report said crude oil inventories in the week rose by 800,000 barrels to 372.6 million barrels, which is "well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year," EIA said late Wednesday. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil added 37 cents to $86.26 per barrel. Home heating oil gained 0.83 cents to reach $2.952 a gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline added 0.34 cents to $2.6055 a gallon. Natural gas gave up .02 cents to $3.347 per million British thermal units. At the pump, AAA reported a national average price for regular unleaded gasoline at $3.301 per gallon, down from Wednesday's $3.315.