Crude oil gains on Nigeria attack, China hopes

The price of crude oil jumped Monday on the news that China said it will increase its oil reserves and after rebels in Nigeria attacked another oil instillation, this time a platform belonging to Royal Dutch Shell.

August contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added $2.33 to $71.49 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude added $2.07 to $70.99 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex July gasoline was up 6 cents to $1.94 per gallon and August heating oil jumped 5 cents to $1.83 per gallon, while August natural gas dropped 16 cents to $3.94 per million British thermal units.

Copper prices were down on declines in stockpiles in London and Shanghai.

September copper added 2 cents to $2.33 per pound in New York trade while three-month copper added $64 to $5,099 per tonne, or $2.31 per pound, on the LME.

Prices for aluminium, lead, zinc and tin all declined, however, and nickel held steady.

Precious metals prices were lower after gold declined after the dollar lost ground during the day, making gold look like a good alternative investment.

August gold closed down 30 cents to $940.70 per troy ounce after going as low as $933.60 earlier in the session, while September silver fell 18 cents to $13.98 per troy ounce and October platinum dropped $17.50 to $1,193.20 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were lower on the Chicago Board of Trade, where July wheat was down 5 cents to $5.28 per bushel and July corn dropped 7 cents to $3.77 per bushel but July soybeans added 14 cents to $12.15 per bushel.

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