Crude prices up ahead of US inventories, OPEC meeting

The price of crude oil rose again Wednesday ahead of a meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is set to begin after the markets close today and during which the cartel is expected to hold production quotas steady.

October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was $1.08 higher to $72.18 per barrel about an hour before the close of floor trade on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while at last report Brent crude had added 91 cents to $70.33 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

The price rise also comes ahead of the release of last week’s US inventories data by the Energy Information Administration on Thursday, a day late because of the Labor Day holiday Monday in the United States.

Oil and gasoline stockpiles are expected by most analysts to have declined by nearly 2 million barrels last week.

The price of copper fell Wednesday as new concerns were raised about short-term demand and prices that might be higher than they should be based on fundamental considerations, as well as on another gain in London Metal Exchange inventories of the metal to its highest level in four months.

December copper was down 3 cents to $2.92 per pound in New York, while three-month copper in London fell $69 to $6,415 per tonne.

Aluminium dropped $7 to $1,888 per tonne while lead fell $50 to $2,405 per tonne, nickel was down $100 to $17,950 per tonne and the last bids of the session for tin were down slightly to a range around $14,700/$14,800 per tonne.

Zinc held steady at $1,980 per tonne.

Precious metals prices were mixed with October platinum up $1.80 to $1,289 per troy ounce, while December gold was down $2.70 to $997.10 per troy ounce and December silver dropped 4 cents to $16.47 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were also mixed as September corn added 2 cents to $3.05 per bushel but September wheat fell a cent to $4.29 per bushel and September soybeans dropped 9 cents to $9.60 per bushel.

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