WTI down slightly in afternoon trade

Crude oil prices fluctuated between gains and declines Wednesday after the US Energy Information Administration released its weekly inventories report for the week ending 14 November.

At 1:37 p.m. in New York December contracts , which expire at the close of trade on Thursday, were down 15 cents to $54.24 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Prices for WTI were up 36 cents just before the EIA report was issued, declined shortly after the data was released and then fluctuated.

The EIA reported that crude oil inventories were up by 1.6 million barrels last week and gasoline stockpiles jumped by 500,000 barrels but distillates in stock fell by 1.5 million barrels during the week.

Nymex gasoline futures were down a cent to $1.13 per gallon in afternoon trade.

Metals prices declined as well.

March copper was down 7 cents to $1.61 in early afternoon trade in New York while three-month copper dropped $160 to $3,590 per tonne in London as inventories rose in London Metal Exchange warehouses and on reports that housing starts and building permits issued both dropped in the US in October.

The price of aluminium also dropped London, falling $40 to $1,878 per tonne, while tin was down $1,120 on the session to $11,905 per tonne, zinc was $45 lower to $1,184 per tonne, lead fell $70 to $1,230 per tonne and nickel dropped $450 to $10,300 per tonne.

Among precious metals, December gold traded even in early afternoon trade in New York at $732.70 per troy ounce while December silver had dropped 22 cents to $9.34 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were mixed on the Chicago Board of Trade as December wheat added 5 cents to $5.35 per bushel but December corn dropped 3 cents to $3.77 per bushel and January soybeans fell 4 cents to $8.98 per bushel.

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