Crude oil ends higher on session

Crude oil prices fluctuated all day Monday as analysts varied in their opinions concerning whether or not OPEC will decide to increase output when it meets in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.

By the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, January contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were 64 cents higher to $89.35 per barrel after trading as low as $87.14 earlier in the session, while Brent crude for January delivery added 45 cents to $88.71 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

At last report, Nymex January unleaded gasoline was 2 cents lower to $2.21 per gallon while January heating oil was trading even at $2.51 per gallon and January natural gas was 10 cents lower to $7.20 per million British thermal units.

Precious metals were higher in New York on Monday on declines in the US dollar, which dropped on the possibility of a cut in US interest rates and on slowing growth in the US manufacturing sector.

February gold was up $5.90 to $795 per troy ounce, but gains were limited by oil prices that declined during the session but ultimately closed higher.

March silver added 6 cents to $14.22 per troy ounce, while January platinum gained $17.30 to $1,461.40.

Base metals prices were lower on the day.

In New York, March copper dropped 11 cents to $3.08 per pound, hurt by a drop in US manufacturing activity in November, while three-month copper in London fell $150 to $6,850 per tonne or $3.11 per pound.

Late in the day in London, aluminium was down $39 to $2,463 per tonne while lead dropped $95 to $2,965 per tonne, nickel fell $345 to $26.750 per tonne, zinc was lower to $2,495 per tonne, and tin was down to $16,750 per tonne.

Grains prices were mixed.

March corn on the Chicago Board of Trade added 2 cents to $4.03 per bushel but January soybeans were 1.25 cents lower to $10.80 per bushel.

CBOT December wheat, meanwhile, dropped 12 cents to $8.55 per bushel while March contracts were down 8 cents to $8.76 per bushel.

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