Oil, metals prices see gains

July contracts for Brent crude added 49 cents to $69.09 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange in London on Monday. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery was up 88 cents to $65.64 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Nymex July gasoline was 3.09 cents higher to $2.158 per gallon and heating oil added 2.12 cents to $1.92 per gallon. Natural gas was 3.2 cents higher to $7.695 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Prices were up on trader sentiment that the losses late last week were too much, while OPEC again insisted, this time through the Iranian oil minister, that there is plenty of crude oil to meet supply. There were also reports of refinery problems at several facilities in Texas over the weekend.

Despite the increases in crude oil and gasoline futures, however, at-the-pump prices in the United States was down to an average of $3.081 per gallon. That is 15 cents lower than its peak at the end of May. Some prices in some localities are down as much as 25 or 30 cents per gallon from their highest level.

Base metals prices were also higher on the session. Aluminium added 1.1 percent to $2,720 per tonne in London, while nickel gained 1.6 percent to $43,000 per tonne after declines last week. Copper added 3.1 percent to $7,360 per tonne after a decline of 900 tonnes in LME inventories. A decline of 350 tonnes from LME zinc stockpiles sent the price of that metal 3.6 percent higher to $3,760 per tonne.

Precious metals prices were also higher in early afternoon trade in New York. August gold was up $8.70 to $659 per troy ounce after trading in a range between $644.50 and $659.20. July silver gained 24 cents to $13.28 per troy ounce, while July platinum added $11.20 to $1,298 per troy ounce.

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