A gas pump is shown Monday, Feb.13, 2012, in Portland, Ore. U.S. retail gasoline prices were flat at $3.513 per gallon Tuesday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
A gas pump is shown Monday, Feb.13, 2012, in Portland, Ore. U.S. retail gasoline prices were flat at $3.513 per gallon Tuesday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
In this Feb. 13, 2012, a motorist pumps gas at a mini-mart in Pittsburgh, Pa. U.S. retail gasoline prices were flat at $3.513 per gallon Tuesday, Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil prices didn't change much on Tuesday, as Greece and its creditors continued to work on plans to trim massive debts. Natural gas prices jumped as bargain hunters snapped up contracts that are still the cheapest in 10 years.
Benchmark crude fell 17 cents to finish at $100.74 per barrel in New York. Brent crude fell 4 cents to end at $117.35 per barrel in London.
Greece approved another round of spending cuts and other austerity measures over the weekend, and it was rewarded Tuesday with slightly lower borrowing costs. Greece's economy remains a shambles, but analysts say the reforms should shield eurozone banks and keep the region's economy from sinking further.
In the U.S. natural gas futures surged by 10 cents, or 4.2 percent, to finish at $2.53 per 1,000 cubic feet. Analysts say investors are betting that prices have dropped about as far as they'll go, and they'll eventually rebound. So they're buying.
The U.S. remains flush with natural gas, however, and that's expected to continue, if producers like Chesapeake Energy Corp. and Exxon Mobil Corp. don't take more natural gas rigs offline, analysts said.
"We'd need another ice age before we're going to see these inventories drop," independent oil analyst Stephen Schork said.
Retail gasoline prices were flat at a national average of $3.51 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Service. A gallon of regular is 13 cents higher than it was a month ago and 39 cents above a year ago.
In other energy trading, heating oil rose about half a cent to end at $3.17 per gallon and gasoline futures fell by 3 cents to finish at $2.98 per gallon.
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