Crude oil again at new high

Crude oil prices set records for the fifth session in a row Friday as West Texas Intermediate crude hit $117 per barrel in after-hours trade after ending the floor session on the New York Mercantile Exchange at $116.69 per barrel, a gain of $1.83.

Nymex May gasoline added 2 cents to $2.98 per gallon but June heating oil dropped 2 cents to $3.21 per gallon, while June natural gas gained 20 cents to $10.69 per million British thermal units.

Prices climbed on new sabotage in Nigeria and after a magnitude-5.2 earthquake in Illinois, in the US Midwest, caused some worry that refineries could have been affected and the brief shutdown of one oil pipeline.

Precious metals prices were mixed, with June gold down $27.60 to $915.30 per troy ounce in New York and silver falling 49 cents to $17.82 per troy ounce but July platinum seeing a gain of $9.80 to $2,071.30 per troy ounce in afternoon trade.

July copper was down 2 cents to $3.89 per pound in New York, while three-month copper in London dropped $33 to $8,577 per tonne on a continuing strike in Chile.

Grains prices were again mixed on the Chicago Board of Exchange.

May soybeans added 11 cents to $13.61 per bushel but May corn fell 4 cents to $5.99 per bushel and May wheat dropped 43 cents to $8.70 per bushel.

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