Crude prices drop on session, still end week higher

The price of crude oil fell Friday, with October contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude dropping $2.66 to $69.28 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after it failed to rise above the month’s previous high of nearly $73 per barrel as equities markets fell in New York, but prices remained 1.9 percent higher at the end of the week than they were at the beginning.

Brent crude for October delivery fell $2.28 to $67.58 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex October gasoline futures were down 4 cents to $1.76 per gallon in afternoon trade, while October heating oil fell 6 cents to $1.73 per gallon.

Copper prices were lower again Friday as inventories continued to rise in warehouses monitored in London, Shanghai, and New York, with London Metal Exchange inventories up 0.2 percent on the day while Shanghai-monitored stockpiles were up 12 percent during the week.

Prices also dropped after the customs office in Beijing said that China imports dropped 20 percent in August from July.

December copper was down 3 cents to $2.85 per pound in New York trade, while three-month copper dropped $44 to $6,250 per tonne in London.

Most other base metals also saw prices drop, but tin was higher on the session.

Meanwhile, precious metals prices rose in New York as the US dollar continued to weaken, making gold look like a better investment.

December gold ended the floor trade session up $9.60 to $1,006.40 per troy ounce, while December silver added 3 cents to $16.70 per troy ounce, October platinum gained $31 to $1,323 per troy ounce, and in morning trade December palladium added $2.55 to $296 per troy ounce.

In afternoon trade in Chicago, September corn and September soybeans had each lost less than a cent, to $3.14 per bushel and $9.84 per bushel respectively.

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