Oil prices hovered below $71 a barrel Monday, The Associated Press reported. By midday in Europe, benchmark crude for September delivery was down 42 cents to $70.51 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract fell $1.01 to settle at $70.93. Crude prices have fluttered near $71 and $72 a barrel for about a week. In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery was down 0.71 cent to $2.001 a gallon and heating oil rose 0.03 cent to $1.9125. Natural gas for September delivery gained 6.4 cents to $3.738 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent prices fell 27 cents to $73.32 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.
