NEW YORK — Oil prices rose above $85 on Friday helped by strong sales of new homes that surged last month from a record low in February.
Meanwhile, efforts to resolve Greece’s debt crisis and its impact on economic recovery and energy demand kept traders on edge.
Benchmark crude for June delivery rose $1.42 to settle at $85.12 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
While gasoline prices have been climbing since February as oil rose and refiners geared up for more expensive summer blends, the climb is not as rapid as in years past.
This week, retail gasoline prices drifted lower. Pump prices Friday fell to a national average of $2.851 a gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular unleaded is 3.5 cents higher than a month ago and 78.8 cents above a year ago.
Many analysts and government forecasters still think gasoline will average $3 or more across the country by summer.
In Denver, prices averaged $2.683 Friday, up a tenth of a cent from Thursday and nearly 5 cents from a month ago.
In other Nymex trading in May contracts, heating oil rose 3.55 cents to settle at $2.2505 a gallon, and gasoline gained 5.29 cents to close at $2.3531 a gallon. Natural gas rose 12.9 cents to settle at $4.257 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude advanced $1.58 to settle at $87.25 on the ICE Futures exchange.
