Crude oil in gains as metals prices drop

Crude oil hit another record high in New York on Thursday as it rose to $105.97 per barrel before easing back slightly but still closing above $105 per barrel.

April contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was 98 cents above Wednesday’s close at $105.50 per barrel at the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for April delivery added $1.01 to $102.65 per barrel after going as high as $102.95 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

In afternoon trade, Nymex April gasoline and heating oil each dropped 3 cents, to $2.61 per gallon and $2.91 per gallon respectively, while April natural gas gained 5 cents to $9.79 per million British thermal units.Precious metals prices were lower on Thursday.

April gold was down $11.60 to $976.90 per troy ounce in New York on profit-taking after hitting a new record high on Wednesday.

May silver dropped 58 cents to $20.21 per troy ounce, while April platinum plummeted $75.30 to $2,200.80 per troy ounce on the session.

Prices for base metals were also lower.

May copper dropped 8 cents to $3.90 per pound in New York after going as high as $4.02 per pound earlier in the session, while three-month copper dropped $130 to $8,560 per tonne in London after it soared to a new high at $8,820 per tonne earlier.

Nickel prices were also down after gaining earlier in the session, closing at $33,000 per tonne, a decline of $400 dollars while tin was $100 lower to $19,150 per tonne while lead was down $110 to $3,240 per tonne and zinc fell $115 to $2,700.

Aluminium traded even at $3,208 per tonne.

Grains prices were mixed.

May soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade dropped 50 cents to $14.58 per bushel on concerns that record harvests predicted for Brazil and Argentina could dent sales of US crops abroad.

CBOT May corn, however, added a quarter of a cent to $5.67 per bushel while May wheat added 22 cents to $11.27 per bushel.

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