Oil prices fell Friday after news reports suggested the U.S. might tap its strategic reserves to slow the rising price of oil. Benchmark crude for September delivery was down 38 cents to $95.22 per barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.27 to finish at $95.60 per barrel in New York on Thursday. Brent crude was down $1.27 to $114.02 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London. In other energy futures trading, gasoline was down 2.9 cents at $3.05 a gallon and heating oil was off 2.4 cents at $3.10 a gallon. Natural gas was steady at $2.724 per 1,000 cubic feet, according to a report of the Associated Press.
