Crude oil, base metals prices mixed on week

July contracts for Brent crude on the Intercontinental Exchange added $1.10 on Friday to reach $71.32 per barrel. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate Crude for August delivery was 63 cents higher to $69.28 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. WTI prices were up 1.9 percent on the week, but the price for Brent dropped 0.2 percent over the week. Nymex July gasoline was up 2 cents on the day to $2.2670 per gallon, a gain of 0.3 percent this week.

The day’s gains came even though it was reported that a strike in Nigeria has not interrupted oil shipments, Traders remained worried, however, that disruptions could still materialize. A statement from OPEC member Saudi Arabia earlier in the week that it will not increase production in July also tended to raise prices.

Base metals prices were mixed this week. Copper was 1.2 percent lower to $7,440 per tonne as worries continued that threatened strikes would materialize in Latin America. Meanwhile, nickel prices fell 11.3 percent to $37,600 over the week. On the other hand, lead added 6.9 percent during the week to trade at $2,540 per tonne on Friday. Lead prices rose as inventories declined and there were worries about Chinese supply.

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