Happy holiday as gas prices are dipping with more Americans heading out on summer trips

Gas prices fall as July Fourth weekend begins

Energy prices slid ahead of the Fourth of July weekend after a government report said businesses added jobs, but not as much as in March and April.

Here’s a breakdown of how energy prices traded Friday:

On the New York Mercantile Exchange:

Crude: lost 81 cents to settle at $72.14 a barrel.

Gasoline: lost 1.99 cents to settle at $1.9777 a gallon.

Heating oil: fell 2.3 cents to settle at $1.9155 a gallon.

Natural gas: dropped 16.7 cents to settle at $4.687 per 1,000 cubic feet.

On the ICE futures exchange:

Brent crude: dropped 69 cents to settle at $71.65 a barrel