Crude oil down on week; metals end week higher

Crude oil prices were up on Friday but declined over the week as supplies remained limited. Gasoline inventories are 7 percent below last year at this time even though gasoline stockpiles have increased the past four weeks in a row as refinery utilization remains below expectations and demand has been on the increase.

July contracts for Brent crude added 58 cents on the session to $68.62 per barrel, a decline of 2.9 percent during the week. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up 80 cents to $64.81 per barrel but also declined for the week as a whole, falling by 0.6 percent. Nymex gasoline futures were down 3.9 percent over the week, but that was partly due to the expiration of June contracts on Thursday. Nymex July gasoline added 2.8 cents to $2.231 per gallon on the day.

Precious metals prices were higher on Friday, helped by an announcement that the European Central Bank does not plan to sell any more bullion this year. Gold added 2 percent to $668.10 per troy ounce in London, helped by word from the European Central bank that it will not sell any more bullion this year. Meanwhile, June contracts closed $10.20 higher to $671.20 per troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. June gold was $15.90 higher over the week on Nymex, but dropped $22 over May as a whole. August contracts were up $10.20 as well, to $676.90 on Nymex.

Also in New York, July silver was up 27 cents to close at $13.74 per troy ounce, a gain of 5.7 percent over the week. July platinum gained 1 percent over the week, adding $9.80 to $1,295.60, while September palladium added $4.20 on Friday and $4 for the week, to close at $377.45 per troy ounce.

Prices for base metals were also up. Nickel added 1.7 percent to $47,350 per tonne despite increases in London Metal Exchange inventories in May. Stockpiles of zinc in LME warehouses were at a 16-year low this week, sending prices 3 percent higher to $3,750 per tonne over the week. Copper added 3.2 percent on the week to $7,475.50 per tonne.

Story link: Crude oil down on week; metals end week higher