Crude oil, metals see gains on session

After a session of fluctuations in prices as traders tried to figure out whether or not this week’s price declines constitute a trend, crude oil prices were higher on Friday.

July contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude went below $125 per barrel overnight, but by near the end of the floor session WTI was $1.23 higher than Thursday’s close to $127.85 per barrel while at last report Brent crude was up $1.40 to $128.29 per barrel.

Nymex July gasoline added 2 cents to $3.35 per gallon while July heating oil was up a cent to $3.72 per gallon and July natural gas gained 14 cents to $11.61.

Precious metals prices followed oil higher, with August gold gaining $9.80 around the end of floor trade in New York to $891.50 per troy ounce while July silver added 37 cents to $16.88 per troy ounce and July platinum jumped $19.80 to $2,010 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, July copper was 5 cents higher to $3.61 percent in New York trade.

Grains prices also climbed on the day, with July corn on the Chicago Board of Trade adding 17 cents to $5.99 per bushel while July wheat was up 18 cents to $7.61 and July soybeans jumped 40 cents to $13.63 per bushel.

Soybeans gained on the possibility that farmers in Argentina will extend their protests against the Argentine government’s export-tax policies, while wheat was up after greater than normal rainfall in the southern Great Plains growing region of the United States raised the possibility of crop damage due to disease.

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