WTI falls to near $113 per barrel

Crude oil prices fell again Tuesday on concerns about falling demand outweighed geological concerns after earlier gains on worries about how the situation in Georgia will affect oil shipments between Asia and Europe.

September contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down $1.38 to $113.07 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was also down $1.38 at last report to $111.29 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex September gasoline futures were down a cent to $2.86 per gallon while September heating oil dropped 2 cents to $3.10 per gallon in afternoon trade.

By the end of the session, however, worries about falling demand outweighed geopolitical concerns after the International Energy Agency cut its estimate of oil demand for the year to 48.6 million barrels per day.

Most metals prices dropped further on Tuesday.

September copper was down 7 cents to $3.23 per pound in New York trade while three-month copper dropped $170 to $7,160 per tonne in London, sending prices 20 percent below the record set in July.

Zinc was $62 lower to $1,628 per tonne after London Metal Exchange inventories added 5,775 tonnes on the session, while aluminium fell $60 to $2,772 per tonne, lead was down $165 to $1,760 per tonne and tin dropped $1,050 to $17,700 per tonne.

Only nickel bucked the trend, adding $100 to $18,100 per tonne.

Meanwhile, December gold was down $13.70 to $814.60 per troy ounce while September silver fell 14 cents to $14.49 per troy ounce and October platinum dropped $56.70 to $1,478.80 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade as December corn added 11 cents to $5.28 per bushel and November soybeans gained 18 cents to $12.14 per bushel but September wheat dropped 3 cents to $7.90 per bushel.

Story link: WTI falls to near $113 per barrel