Oil prices rose above $72 a barrel Tuesday in Asia, the Associated Press reported. Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 38 cents at $72.27 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 70 cents to settle at $71.89 on Monday. In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil fell 0.1 cent to $1.8845 a gallon, and gasoline was down 0.5 cent at $1.8893 a gallon. Natural gas rose 3.9 cents to $5.44 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude was up 45 cents at $70.57 on the ICE futures exchange.
