Oil Fluctuates Near $85 Ahead of Election

Benchmark oil rose 21 cents to $85.07 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, oil slumped $2.23 to close at $84.86 a barrel.

Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, rose 86 cents to $106.54 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

AAA says the national average price for gasoline has dropped 7 cents in the past week to $3.47 per gallon. But gas prices have risen somewhat in New York and New Jersey, where the energy infrastructure was battered by Superstorm Sandy.

In other trading in New York:

• Wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $2.60 per gallon;
• Heating oil gained 1 cent to $2.96 per gallon;
•  Natural gas rose 1 cent to $3.69 per 1,000 cubic feet.