Brent, WTI prices gain on session

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery was $1.24 higher to $80.26 per barrel Tuesday on Nymex, while November contracts for Brent crude added 91 cents to $77.49 per barrel on the Intercontinental Exchange in London.

Prices were higher on differing ideas as to how much demand there will be for heating oil in the US this winter.

While the US Energy Information Administration said that the demand, and prices, for heating oil will increase due coming cold winter weather, the National Weather Service has issued forecasts of warmer-than-normal weather for the upcoming winter.

Specifically, the NWS says that the Northeast, which accounts for 80 percent of the heating oil consumed in the US, will experience warmer than average temperatures this winter.

November heating oil on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained 3 cents to $2.19 per gallon.

Nymex November gasoline was up 2 cents to $2.02 per gallon, while November natural gas gained 2 cents to $6.86 per million British thermal units.

Precious metals prices were higher in New York as the US dollar declined after the release of the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Federal Reserve.

December gold was $4.40 higher to $743.10 per troy ounce, while December silver gained 22 cents to $13.58 per troy ounce and January platinum jumped $6.40 to $1,379.60.

Among base metals, copper added less than half a cent to $3.63 per pound in New York, while three-month copper gained $90 to $8,050 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

In London, three-month lead was up $160 to $3,835 per tonne after reaching a new high at $3,950 per tonne earlier in the session, while aluminium gained $36 to $2,423 per tonne and zinc was $50 higher to $3,000 per tonne, tin added $250 to $15,850 per tonne, and nickel jumped $750 to $30,900 per tonne.

Among agricultural commodities, November the price of November soybeans soared on the Chicago Board of Trade, adding 24.75 cents to $9.50 per bushel on the chance that lower prices last week will lead to foreign buying of US supplies.

Soybean prices were also up on concerns that US crops could be smaller than September estimates by the US Department of Agriculture.

Corn prices also rose, with December CBOT corn prices up 2.75 cents to $3.425 per bushel.

Wheat prices were lower again, with December wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 14.5 cents to $8.455 per bushel.

Story link: Brent, WTI prices gain on session