Price declines held in check with demand boosted by winter weather NEW YORK, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices held above $97 per barrel Tuesday with the northeastern United States enveloped in a winter chill. West Texas Intermediate crude gave up 38 cents, but remained in range of the seven-day rolling average at $97.38. Reformulated gasoline blendstock for January shed 0.93 cents to $2.6344 a gallon. January heating oil lost 1.29 cents to settle at $2.9773 a gallon, while natural gas lost 5 cents to settle at $4.23 per million British thermal units. The national average price of unleaded regular gasoline dropped to $3.222 a gallon from Monday's $3.238 a gallon, the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report said.