Oil prices settle near $77 as stocks, euros rise

Crude prices rose today as stock markets gained ground and investors awaited word on what BP would do about future dividends and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

At the gas pump, the drop in prices over the past six weeks has slowed. Pump prices edged lower today, falling 0.2 cent to a national average of $2.696 per gallon, according to AAA, Wright Express and Oil Price Information Services.

Prices have fallen 2.2 cents in the past week and 17.6 cents in the past month and are now just 2.7 cents higher than year-ago levels.

BP executives, including CEO Tony Hayward, are to meet with President Barack Obama on Wednesday to talk about the Gulf spill. Hayward will testify before a congressional panel Thursday.

The White House meeting and the hearing come as BP debates whether to suspend or cut its second-quarter dividend until it knows how much the spill will cost.