Crude oil prices climbed above $78 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Thursday after the government said stockpiles remained high.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude oil inventories remain above the upper limit of the average level for this time of year. Crude oil stockpiles added 0.8 million barrels to reach 339.9 million barrels in the week ending Oct. 23.

Overnight, prices climbed 58 cents to $78.04 per barrel. Heating oil prices added 0.0208 cents to $2.0177 per gallon. Reformulated gasoline prices dropped 0.002 cents to $1.9844 per gallon. Natural gas prices shed 0.094 cents to $4.972 per million British thermal units.

At the pump, the national average price of unleaded gasoline rose from Wednesday's $2.683 per gallon to $2.691 per gallon, AAA said.