Crude, grains prices fall; precious metals mixed

Crude oil prices fell slightly Friday, with West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery down 43 cents to $109.90 near the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange as Brent crude fell 9 cents to $107.45 on the ICE Futures Europe exchange.

Prices were down on fears that inventories in the US will continue to gain while demand falls.

Nymex April gasoline and May heating oil were both up 1 cent in afternoon trade, to $2.69 and $3.04 per gallon respectively, while May natural gas dropped 20 cents to $10.11 per million British thermal units.

At-the-pump prices for gasoline in the United States were up 1.3 cents overnight to $3.28 per gallon while diesel fuel added 2.9 cents to $3.93 per gallon.

Precious metals prices were mixed on the lower dollar.

April gold added $5.70 to $999.50 per troy ounce in New York after having hit a new record high at $1,009 per troy ounce earlier while May silver added 24 cents to $20.66 per troy ounce but April platinum was down $21.50 to $2,076 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, copper dropped less than half a cent to trade at $3.82 per pound in New York.

Grains prices were lower in Chicago, with May corn on the Chicago Board of Trade down 10 cents to $5.59 per bushel while CBOT May wheat fell 16 cents to $12.28 per bushel and May soybeans dropped 50 cents to $13.52 per bushel.

Story link: Crude, grains prices fall; precious metals mixed