Oil prices drop as metals, grains see gains

Prices for crude oil fell Monday after a day of volatile trade that saw prices go up as equities markets saw gains in Europe and in early US trade but there was worry that demand losses could amount to more than recent production cuts by OPEC.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 74 cents to $45.73 per barrel by the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while at last report Brent crude was down 82 cents to $47.55 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex February gasoline was up less than a cent to 1.15 per gallon while March heating oil dropped 2 cents to $1.42 per gallon and March natural gas dropped 4 cents in afternoon trade to $4.45 per million British thermal units.

March copper added 11 cents to $1.59 per pound in New York, while three-month copper gained $289 to $3,540 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange.

Copper prices gained on the News that existing home sales were up 6.5 percent in December rather than dropping, as had been expected, raising hopes that demand for the metal for use in construction projects will increase.

Meanwhile among precious metals, April gold added $12.30 to $901 per troy ounce in New York, while March silver was up 18 cents to $12.12 per troy ounce and April platinum gained $15.90 to $973.90 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were mostly higher on the Chicago Board of Trade.

While CBOT March soybeans traded even at $10.09 per bushel, March corn added 3 cents to $3.93 per bushel and March wheat gained 9 cents to $5.92 per bushel.

Story link: Oil prices drop as metals, grains see gains