Lead, copper prices higher on session

Copper prices were 3 cents lower in New York on Thursday to $3.74 per pound as separate reports from the Labor Department and Commerce Department showed that there were more first-time unemployment claims than anticipated in the US last week and that factory orders there dropped the most in seven months in August.

Meanwhile in London, three-month copper prices were $100 lower to $8,200 per tonne, or $3.72 per pound.

Elsewhere in base metals, three-month lead dropped 0.9 percent on the London Metal Exchange to $3,607 per tonne, but not before rising to $3,655 per tonne earlier in the session, while LME nickel dropped 2.5 percent to $30,750 per tonne.

With the US dollar weaker versus the euro and yen on the new US factory orders figures, precious metals prices climbed as investors assumed that the new data makes it more likely that the Federal Reserve will cut US interest rates later this month.

December gold added $8.10 to $743.80 per troy ounce after a two-day decline, while December silver gained 3 cents to $13.50 per troy ounce and January platinum was up $9.50 to $1,378.40 per troy ounce.

November contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was up $1.50 to $81.44 per barrel, while November gasoline was 6 cents higher to $2.05 per gallon and November heating oil gained 5 cents to $2.23 per gallon.

The price for November contracts for natural gas on the New York Mercantile Exchange added 14 cents to $7.41 per million British thermal units after the US Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas stockpiles added 7.5 percent last week to a total of around 3.26 trillion cubic feet, above the five-year average but below last year’s level.

December wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 21 cents to $9.06 per bushel as expectations continued that farmers will plant more wheat to try to take advantage of high prices.

Meanwhile, CBOT December corn fell 2.25 cents to $3.42 per bushel but November soybeans added 3.25 percent to $9.54 per bushel.

December coffee on ICE Futures US, until recently known as the New York Board of Trade, were down 0.65 cent to $1.352 per pound on the news that rain is forecast in Brazil’s coffee growing regions next week, easing fears that two months of dry weather could hurt the crop.

Beginning Friday, ICE Futures US will add a robusta coffee contract to go along with the current contract for arabica beans.

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