Oil prices fall on disappointing housing report

Oil prices fell today after a government report showed the housing industry still has a long way to go to recover.

Benchmark oil for March delivery lost 50 cents to settle at $91.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

At the gas pump, prices rose again, to a national average of about $3.11 for a gallon of regular, according to AAA, Wright Express and the Oil Price Information Service. That's nearly 13 cents more than a month ago and 37 cents more than a year ago.

The Commerce Department said builders broke ground on 587,600 homes in 2010. That was the second lowest number of homes started since 1959. The worst year was 2009 when only 554,000 homes were started. That compares to about a million new units a year when the economy is healthy.