Oil, precious metals prices fall on session

September contracts for West Texas Intermediate Crude were $1.62 lower to $66.76 per barrel in noon trade Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude was last reported to have declined $1.53 to $69.28 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The declines came ahead of new data on US inventories from the US Energy Information Administration, due tomorrow, and on declines in profits in the oil sector as demand remains weak despite lower fuel prices than last year at the same time.

Earlier, in morning trade, Nymex August gasoline futures and September heating oil futures each dropped 3 cents, to $1.91 per gallon and $1.79 per gallon respectively.

Aluminium prices were higher Tuesday in London, adding $17 to $1,843 per tonne in afternoon trade there on the prospect of increased demand as inventories dropped by 4,225 tonnes during the day, even though stockpiles remain near record highs and are still up 3.5 percent this month.

Meanwhile, September copper dropped 2 cents to $2.52 per pound in New York trade but was up 0.3 percent in afternoon trade on the Londom Metal Exchange.

Zinc prices were up 0.9 percent in London trade while lead prices remained unchanged and tin declined by 0.3 percent.

Gold prices were lower, falling $14.60 to $941.70 per troy ounce, as the US dollar gained on the euro, making metals less attractive for investment purposes, while September silver was 25 cents lower to $13.74 per troy ounce and October platinum dropped $25.90 to $1,196.60 per troy ounce.

In afternoon trade in Chicago, August soybeans added 31 cents to $10.52 per bushel but September corn was down 1 cent to $3.21 per bushel and September wheat had dropped 5 cents to $5.14 per bushel.

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