Crude prices up, metals lower ahead of holidays

The price of crude oil was higher Tuesday, regaining early declines after the US dollar dropped gains versus the euro and on new data from the National Association of Realtors showing that existing home sales in the US grew by 7.4 percent in November over the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries left production quotas unchanged even though compliance by member nations is currently only about 60 percent, down from 80 percent compliance at the beginning of the year.

February contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude added 68 cents to $74.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange as trade volumes were weak heading into the holidays.

February Brent crude was up 38 cents to $73.37 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London.

Nymex January gasoline futures were up 2 cents to $1.89 per gallon, while the price of a gallon of gasoline at the pump in the United States fell half a cent overnight to $2.585 per gallon on average.

At the same time, Nymex January heating oil futures were up a cent to $1.97 per gallon.

Copper prices were lower Tuesday, hurt by a stronger US dollar and as London Metal Exchange-monitored inventories grew by another 1,450 tonnes to their highest level in 8 months.

In New York trade, March copper was 2 cents lower to $3.14 per pound, while in London three-month contracts for the metal used in manufacturing and construction dropped $59 to $6,331 per tonne.

Inventories of nickel were higher as well, adding 114 tonnes in LME warehouses to just over 600 tonnes below the record high set 15 years ago, sending the price of nickel down $150 to $17,750 per tonne.

Aluminium prices dropped $26 to $2,242 per tonne while zinc was down $4 to $2,434 per tonne, lead fell $14 to $2,306 per tonne and tin declined $75 to $15,825 per tonne.

Among precious metals, February gold was down $9.30 to $1,086.70 per troy ounce in New York trade, while March silver dropped 4 cents to $17 per troy ounce.

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