After an up-and-then-down week, oil and gas markets closed slightly higher Thursday ahead of the Easter holiday weekend. All major U.S. and European stock exchanges and markets were closed Friday for Good Friday, which coincides with the Passover holiday that starts Friday at sundown. Growing U.S. inventories pulled prices lower Thursday after hitting $70 per barrel earlier this week, but they closed mixed by the end of the day. The price for May Brent crude oil was up .56 cents to $64.94 per barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for the price of oil, was unchanged to $69.53 per barrel. The May contract expired Thursday. On Thursday, […]