Crude oil rises as metal prices remain mixed

The price of crude oil was up Monday ahead of a number of new reports on issues such as US unemployment, home prices, and consumer confidence, while the retail price of gasoline in the US dropped below $2.50 per gallon for the first time in two months.

November contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude were up 82 cents to $66.84 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude added 98 cents to $66.09 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex October gasoline futures were up 2 cents to $1.64 per gallon and November heating oil gained a cent to $1.72 per gallon, but November natural gas dropped 12 cents to $4.83 per million British thermal units in New York trade.

The retail price of a gallon of gas, meanwhile, was down half a cent overnight to $2.499, falling despite a refinery fire last week in Los Angeles and interrupted ship traffic in the Houston Ship Channel that could have caused delays in some shipments as demand for gasoline remained week and inventories were abundant.

Metals prices were mixed on the session, with precious metals higher in New York trade, while there were mixed results among base metals.

December copper was down a cent to $2.73 per pound in New York trade, while three-month copper added $19 to $6,009 per tonne in London even though London Metal Exchange stockpiles of the metal added 3,650 tonnes on the session.

Meanwhile, aluminium added $18 to $1,833 per tonne in London as inventories fell by 5,525 tonnes but remained near record highs, while lead gained $22 to $2,207 per tonne.

Zinc was $2 lower to $1,878 per tonne, nickel dropped $150 to $16,750 per tonne and tin traded even at $14,400 per tonne.

December gold was $2.50 higher to $994.10 per troy ounce in New York trade after the US dollar weakened, making the precious metal look like a safer investment.

December silver was also higher, adding 14 cents to $16.20 per troy ounce while January platinum gained $1.90 to $1,290.80 per troy ounce.

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