Lead gains on Australia troubles

The price of crude oil was lower on Monday as a refinery in Indiana and a pipeline from Texas to Illinois both returned to full operation, leaving the Kansas refinery closed by recent floods out of commission for the time being.

West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery was down 13 cents to $73.80 per barrel in early afternoon trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude August contracts fell 93 cents to $76.64 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange in London.

Brent’s August contracts expired at the end of trade on Monday.

Nymex August gasoline was lower, dropping 8 cents to $2.15 per gallon, while Nymex September natural gas dropped 25 cents to $6.52 per million British thermal units.

At-the-pump gasoline prices in the United States were also lower, dropping 0.4 cents to an average of $3.05 per gallon nationally according to the latest data from AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.

Precious metals prices were lower in early afternoon trade in New York.

August gold dropped $1 to trade at $666.30 per troy ounce, while September silver was 5 cents lower to $13.07 per troy ounce.

October platinum was down 40 cents to $1,327.10 per troy ounce, but it could go higher after deliveries were postponed from a facility in South Africa.

September palladium was 95 cents lower to $370.50 per troy ounce.

The prices of base metals were mixed.

Three-month lead had added $90 in morning trade in London, to $3,120 per tonne, after it had gone as high as $3,125 per tonne earlier in the session as a port remains under investigation over the issue of lead poisoning.

Aluminium and tin were also higher on the session.

The price of September copper in New York was down 3 cents to $3.56 per pound in early afternoon trade and London copper was down $80 to $7,800 per tonne after inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses were up by 1,325 tonnes during the day and a strike was settled in Chile.

Nickel fell by $250 to $32,350 per tonne in London, while the price of zinc was $25 lower to $3,565 per tonne in London.

Story link: Lead gains on Australia troubles