WTI, Brent set new records

Crude oil prices hit new records in both London and New York, with Brent crude going as high as $142.97 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate hitting $142.99 per barrel before both eased back but still closed above $140 per barrel.

August contracts for WTI ended the session 57 cents higher than Thursday’s close at $140.21 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude was up 21 cents to $140.04 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The higher prices came after the US dollar weakened versus the euro again and on suspicions that the Federal Reserve will not be raising US interest rates for the foreseeable future.

Nymex July gasoline futures dropped just over a cent to $350 per gallon after rising to $3.58 per gallon during the day, a new record, while August heating oil was up 4 cents to $3.95 per gallon and August natural gas dropped 5 cents to $13.20 per million British thermal units.

Among precious metals, August gold was up $15.80 to $930.90 per troy ounce just before the close of floor trade in New York while September silver added 49 cents to $17.71 per troy ounce but October platinum, was down $7.40 to $2,062,40 per troy ounce.

Among base metals, September copper gained 5 cents to $3.88 per pound in New York as London Metal Exchange stockpiles dropped by almost 1 percent during the week and inventories monitored in Shanghai were down by 3 percent since Monday.

Grains prices were mixed.

July corn on the Chicago Board of Trade was 1 cent higher to $7.54 per bushel and July soybeans gained 7 cents to $15.81 per bushel.

On the other hand, CBOT wheat was down as the United States Department of Agriculture estimated that farmers are in the midst of harvesting the biggest winter wheat crop in 10 years.

July contracts were fell 28 cents to $8.95 per bushel while September contracts dropped 30 cents to $9.12 per bushel.

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