Energy prices mixed Monday

The price of crude oil was little changed Monday, holding above $97 per barrel in New York. The undertone of the market is upbeat, as the Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 closed at all-time highs Thursday, and chalked up modest losses Monday. The economic recovery, however, has been slow, especially in the job market. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate crude oil for May delivery shed 11 cents to $97.02 per barrel. Gasoline prices gave up 0.53 cents to $3.1075 per gallon. Home heating oil added 3.24 cents to $3.0701 a gallon. Natural gas added 0.2 cents to reach $4.027 per million British thermal units. At the pump, the average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.634 Monday, down from Sunday's $3.636, the AAA Fuel Gauge Report said.