Oil prices fell Friday, but natural gas contracts continued to rise amid summer heat driving demand for electricity to run air conditioners.
Light sweet crude oil for delivery in August settled down 10 cents at $20.92 per barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange. Analysts viewed the drop as a modest correction from increases earlier in the week.Natural gas prices jumped to another record as hot weather settled into the Southeast and Texas. The August contract rose 12.4 cents to $2.911 per per 1,000 cubic feet.