Oil prices reverse course and fall

Options let investors bet oil prices will rise or fall in the future. Oil prices can fluctuate widely on days when options expire, analysts said.

Meanwhile, natural gas prices tumbled after the Energy Department said natural gas inventories rose by 93 billion cubic feet last week, more than analysts had expected.

Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell $1.25 to $122.97 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after rising as high as $126.64 earlier in the session. June natural gas futures fell 37.4 cents to $11.224 per 1,000 cubic feet.

At the pump, meanwhile, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas rose 1.8 cents overnight to a national average of $3.776. Prices are 67 cents higher than a year ago, and many analysts think they could rise as high as $4 on a national basis in coming weeks. Consumers in many areas are already paying that much, or more.