Crude oil prices dropped under $85 per barrel in New York Monday after China reported its trade surplus fell sharply in January.
China said the surplus fell to $6.5 billion, less than half the $13.1 billion surplus from the previous month. Imports jumped 51 percent compared with January 2010. Exports rose 37.7 percent during the 12-month period.
March delivery light, sweet crude oil lost 53 cents from Friday to $84.96 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, closing under $85 for the first time since late December.
Home heating oil lost 0.18 cents from a prior settlement to $2.7486 per gallon. Reformulated blendstock gasoline prices added 0.06 cents to $2.518 per gallon.
Henry Hub natural gas prices gained 1.2 cents to $3.937 per million British thermal units.
At the retail level, the national average price for a gallon of unleaded gasoline fell to $3.126 from Sunday's $3.128, AAA said.
