Commodity Blog

Crude oil gained today on concerns that the disturbance in the Gulf of Mexico would turn into a tropical cyclone. The output from the region has already declined by about 36.9 percent for and 18.1 percent for natural gas. Analysts expect that the report tomorrow will show that US inventories of crude decrease by 2 million barrels last week. October futures for delivery of crude oil gained $3.32 to $89.34 per barrel on NYMEX, posting the biggest advance since August 10.

Gold slipped today as gains of stocks reduced demand for metal as a safe haven and prompted traders to take profit from record prices. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index surged 2.7 percent and the MSCI All-Country World Index jumped as much as 2.8 percent. The precious metal also retreated after the dollar climbed to the highest level in more than a month against the basket of six major currencies. December futures for delivery of gold retreated $55.70 (3 percent) to $1,817.60 per ounce as of 13:25 on COMEX. December futures for silver slipped $0.237 (0.6 percent) to $41.631 per ounce.

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