Crude oil declines as most metals see gains

November contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $2.32 to $78.87 per barrel at the close of trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange Tuesday, while Brent crude for November delivery was down $2.80 to $74.66 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

At last report, Nymex November gasoline futures were down 3 cents to $1.88 per gallon while Nymex December heating oil had fallen 8 cents to $2.29 per gallon and January natural gas had dropped a cent to $7.32 per million British thermal units.

Most base metals prices saw gains.

Three-month copper added $185 to $5,200 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange while December copper was up 8 cents to $2.39 per pound in New York

Aluminium added $32 to $2,282 per tonne in London, while lead was up $75 to $1,640 per tonne and tin gained $470 to $14,995 per tonne while nickel was unchanged at $12,800 per tonne after going as high as $13,750 per tonne earlier and zinc dropped $70 to $1,410 per tonne.

Precious metals prices were mixed.

December gold dropped $2.50 to $840 per troy ounce in New York as the US move to spend $250 billion more on banks in the US reduced demand for the metal as a safe haven, but silver added 27 percent to $11.06 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were lower on the Chicago Board of Trade, with December corn down a fraction to $4.11 per bushel while December wheat was 15 cents lower to $5.73 per bushel and November soybeans dropped 32 cents to $8.96 per bushel.

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