Crude oil prices fall on recession concerns

Crude oil prices slid slightly Friday on worries that the bailout of the US financial sector will not be enough to steer the economy from recession, especially after the Labor Department issued a report showing that the economy lost 159,000 jobs in September and the Commerce Department reported that factory orders dropped by 4 percent in August.

West Texas Intermediate crude for November delivery fell 8 cents on the session to $93.89 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while November contracts for Brent crude dropped 64 cents to $89.92 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

In afternoon trade, Nymex November gasoline was down 3 cents to $2.23 per gallon while November heating oil fell 5 cents to $2.66 per gallon and November natural gas dropped 12 cents to $7.36 per million British thermal units.

December copper added 6 cents to $2.69 per pound, while three-month copper had added $130 to $5,980 per tonne at last report from London on hopes that the US bailout of its financial sector will lead to more demand.

Among precious metals, December gold was down $12.30 to $832 per troy ounce in New York trade on a stronger dollar, while December silver added 21 cents to $11.33 per troy ounce on a rebound from its 13 percent decline on Thursday.

Platinum was down $20.80 to $965.80 per troy ounce while in mid-morning trade in New York palladium dropped $4.20 to $199 per troy ounce.

Grains were mixed, with December wheat on the Chicago Board of Trade adding 4 cents to $6.40 per bushel while CBOT December corn traded even at $4.54 per bushel and November soybeans dropped 12 cents to $9.92.

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