Commodities prices in across-the-board gains

Crude oil prices were higher Wednesday on new inventories data from the US Energy Information Administration which showed gasoline inventories down more than had been anticipated.

West Texas Intermediate crude for September delivery added $2.99 to $116 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while at last report Brent crude was up $3.46 to $114.60 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex September gasoline futures were up 6 cents to $2.90 per gallon and September heating oil added 5 cents to $3.13 per gallon while October natural gas gained 15 cents to $8.56 per million British thermal units.

The EIA said that gasoline stockpiles in the United States were down 6.4 million barrels in the week ending 8 August, almost three times more than the 2.2 million barrels the inventories were expected to fall.

Additionally, US crude oil inventories were down by 400,000 barrels during the week, while distillates in storage were down 1.7 million barrels.

Most metals prices saw gains Wednesday on the search for bargains by investors.

September copper added 12 cents to $3.35 per pound in New York while three-month copper added almost 5 percent to $7,482 per tonne in London before ending the session at $7,400 per tonne, a gain of $250 on the session.

Zinc added $27 to $1,650 per tonne while aluminium was up $41 to $2,813 per tonne, tin was $350 higher to $17,800 per tonne and nickel gained $400 to $18,500 per tonne but lead dropped $56 to $1,684 per tonne.

December gold added $16.90 to $831.50 per troy ounce in New York while September silver was up 36 cents to $14.85 per troy ounce.

In morning trade, platinum was up $20.60 to $1,499 per troy ounce in New York after prices fell 29 percent in the past six weeks.

Corn saw its biggest gains in two months on the Chicago Board of Trade on the possibility that demand for livestock feed and ethanol made from the grain will create a market for what is predicted to be the second-biggest US corn crop in history, sending Decmeber CBOT corn up 30 cents to $5.58 per bushel.

Wheat and soybeans also saw significant gains, with CBOT September wheat adding 60 cents to $8.50 per bushel while November soybeans gained 70 cents to $12.84 per bushel.

Story link: Commodities prices in across-the-board gains