Crude prices mixed on session

Crude oil prices were mixed Thursday after more announcements of layoffs from several US companies, on reports that new home sales and durable goods orders were both down in December, and on new numbers from the Labor Department that show unemployment in the US continuing to rise.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were down 72 cents to $41.44 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, but Brent crude for March delivery added 35 cents to $45.25 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

In afternoon trade, Nymex February gasoline was up 8 cents to $1.18 per gallon and March heating oil added 3 cents to $1.44 per gallon.

March natural gas futures on Nymex added 11 cents to $4.53 per million British thermal units after the US Energy Information Administration reported that US stockpiles fell by 186 million cubic feet, more than expected, to 2.37 trillion cubic feet in storage last week.

The news on employment, housing and durable goods orders sent investors looking for safe places to put their money, increasing the demand for gold and sending its price higher.

April gold added $16.50 to $906.50 per troy ounce in New York, while March silver was up 18 cents to $12.15 per troy ounce and April platinum gained $12 to $975 per troy ounce.

Meanwhile, March copper dropped 4 cents to $1.46 per pound in New York, while three-month copper was down $82 to $3,248 per tonne in London.

The price of copper was down on London Metal Exchange inventories that continue to rise and on the news that new home sales were lower again in December, raising the possibility that fewer homes will be built so that demand for copper will continue to fall.

Grains prices fell on the Chicago Board of Trade as March corn was down 2 cents to $3.81 per bushel, March soybeans was 12 cents lower to $9.70 per bushel and March wheat dropped 17 cents to $5.78 per bushel.

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