New York oil, gasoline futures hit record highs

June contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude oil ended the session on the New York Mercantile Exchange with a gain of $2.27 to $125.96 per barrel Friday after going as high as a new record $126.20 per gallon earlier in the session.

Brent crude for June delivery was up $2.04 to $124.88 per barrel.

In addition to the new record for crude oil prices, Nymex June gasoline touched a new record high at $3.2038 per gallon before sliding back slightly to end 6 cents higher at $3.2012 per gallon, while heating oil also rose to a record $3.65 per gallon before closing up 12 cents at $3.636 per gallon.

July platinum added $59.50 to $2,101.80 per troy ounce, while June gold was up $3.50 to $885.60 per troy ounce and July silver gained 2 cents to $16.98 per troy ounce.

Gold was up on a weaker dollar on higher oil prices while platinum jumped on hopes of higher demand from China and on the introduction of two platinum-based exchange-traded notes on the New York Stock Exchange.

Among base metals, July copper was down 7 cents to $3.72 per pound in New York while three-month copper dropped $162 to $8,138 per tonne in late afternoon trade in London.

Wheat prices fell on the Chicago Board of Trade after the US Department of Agriculture issued a new forecast of record crops globally, with a total of 656 million tons of wheat expected to be harvested around the world this year and next.

CBOT July wheat dropped 18 cents to $8.03 per bushel, while July corn dropped less than a cent to $6.29 per bushel.

Soybeans on the Chicago Board of Trade added 43 cents to $13.53 per bushel while the continuing effects from the cyclone that hit Myanmar almost a week ago sent rice 25 cents higher to $22.60 per 100 pounds.

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