Oil Prices Settle At $81.49

In trading on the NYMEX crude oil for April delivery lost 38 cents to settle at $81.49 per barrel.  The April crude oil contract rallied from a low of $80.16, hit earlier in the session.

Trading in London on the ICE futures exchange, Brent Sea crude oil was down 56 cents to settle at $79.91.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration issued its Short-Term Energy Outlook on Tuesday, forecasting an average oil price of $80 per barrel throughout the spring.  The EIA also predicts retail gasoline prices to average above $3 per gallon during the summer driving season.