Oil, most other commodities end week with price declines

Crude oil prices fell again Friday on data showing that unemployment in the United States rose to 6.1 percent in August, causing concerns that demand will decline further, while investors anticipated next week’s meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to see if the cartel cuts production quotas.

October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $1.48 to $106.41 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude for October delivery was down $2.25 to $104.14 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

In afternoon trade, Nymex October gasoline dropped 7 cents to $2.68 per gallon while October heating oil fell 6 cents to $2.96 per gallon, but October natural gas added 3 cents to $7.35 per million British thermal units.

Copper prices were lower Friday, triggering a decline in other base metals prices, while most precious metals prices were also down on the session.

December copper was 17 cents lower to $3.10 per pound in New York, while three-month copper was down $326 to $6,900 per tonne in London on demand worries caused by gains in US unemployment in August and on increases in inventories in both London and Shanghai.

Aluminium was down $30 to $2,647 per tonne while lead fell $86 to $1,805 per tonne, zinc was $141 lower to $1,750 per tonne, nickel dropped $800 to $18,600 per tonne and tin plummeted by approximately $1000 to trade in a range around $18,350/$18,400 per tonne.

Most precious metals prices also declined, but December gold ended the floor session in New York with a gain of 30 cents to $803.50 per troy ounce, while December silver fell 62 cents to $12.33 per troy ounce, while October platinum dropped $34.40 to $1,367 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were lower on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, with December corn down 16 cents to $5.48 per bushel while at the same time December wheat was 25 cents lower to $7.51 per bushel and November soybeans dropped 58 cents to $11.77 per bushel.

Wheat prices dropped on worries that production will top demand globally.

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