Crude oil, copper, grains all decline

Crude oil prices were lower Tuesday as investors worried that the recession will not only continue but deepen before it gets better after new data showed that manufacturing activity contracted significantly in the New York region and that Japan’s economy contracted by 3.3 percent in the fourth quarter/

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was down $2.58 to $34.93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for March delivery dropped $2.14 to $41.14 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex March unleaded gasoline and April heating oil futures each dropped 8 cents during the session, to $1.13 per gallon and $1.22 per gallon respectively, while April natural gas was down 20 cents to $4.26 per million British thermal units.

May copper was 11 cents lower to $1.44 per pound in New York, while three-month copper was down $115 to $3,215 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange after the New York manufacturing data reinforced concerns that demand will likely continue to decline and on the news that carmakers are asking for more help from the US government.

On the other hand, precious metals prices continued to be perceived as a safe haven at a time when some interest rates are at record lows.

April gold added $25.30 to $967.50 per troy ounce in New York while at the same time March silver was up 39 cents to $14.01 per troy ounce and April platinum was $37.30 higher to $1,098.30 per troy ounce.

In late morning trade, March palladium had added $2.50 to $219 per troy ounce.

Grains prices fell significantly on the Chicago Board of Trade, where March corn fell 14 cents to $3.49 per bushel, March wheat was down 20 cents to $3.49 per bushel and March soybeans dropped 52 cents to $9.03 per bushel.

Story link: Crude oil, copper, grains all decline