The price of oil is rising for a second day after signs that the Federal Reserve may take additional action to help the sluggish economic recovery in the U.S.

Strong economic news tends to boost oil prices because it's a sign that demand will rise. Benchmark oil rose 39 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $97.65 per barrel Thursday in New York.

The price of natural gas is lower after a government report showed that more gas went into storage than analysts expected. The price fell 4 percent to $2.71 per 1,000 cubic feet.

At the pump, the national average for gasoline rose less than a penny overnight to $3.718 per gallon. That's about a quarter more than a month ago.

Heating oil is up 2 cents to $3.16 per gallon.