Crude oil prices decline slightly

Precious metals prices were mostly higher at mid-morning in New York on Thursday. June gold was $2.10 higher to $679.50 per troy ounce after trading in a range between $676.60 and $681.00 per troy ounce. Spot gold was at $673.90/$674.40 per troy ounce, a slight gain over Wednesday. The afternoon fix in London stood at $673.50 per troy ounce.

May silver gained 9 cents to $13.710 per troy ounce and traded in the range of $13.600 to $13.730 per troy ounce. Spot silver was up slightly, to $13.65/$13.70 per troy ounce. The London fix was at $13.580 per troy ounce. July platinum was up as well, adding $5.10 to $1,264 per troy ounce, with the spot price at $1,250/$1,254 per troy ounce. June palladium, however, dropped 65 cents to trade at $353.50 per troy ounce. Palladium’s spot price was quoted at $351/$356 per troy ounce.

Oil prices were lower during the day as the 15 British sailors who had been held by the Iranian government arrived back in the UK. Brent crude front-month contracts were 34 cents lower to $68.06 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange in London, while West Texas Intermediate crude fell 28 cents to $64.10 per barrel on the New York Mercantile exchange after having gone as high as $64.94 per barrel earlier in the session.

Nymex heating oil was 1 cent lower to $1.8527 per gallon. Nymex gasoline futures were higher, but by less than a cent to $2.1094 per gallon after a 4 percent gain on Wednesday on low stockpiles. Prices for gasoline have been rising on tight supplies created by several recent unplanned shut-downs at refineries. Natural gas was up as well, adding 9 cents to $7.605 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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