Oil prices pulled down with falling commodities prices
BY AP Wire Service
Thursday, February 21, 2013
2/21/13 at 3:17 AM
NEW YORK (AP) - The price of oil fell Wednesday, as a drop in metals commodities overflowed into crude markets.
Benchmark crude for April delivery lost $1.88, or 2 percent, to finish at $95.22 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The March contract, which expires Wednesday, fell $2.20 to end at $94.46 per barrel.
Brent crude, used to price many international varieties of oil imported by U.S. refineries, fell $1.92 to finish at $115.60 a barrel in London.
Gold and other precious metals tumbled in Wednesday trading, and oil was dragged down by the commodities sell-off. Gold was down about $26, around 2 percent, to $1,578 an ounce. Silver and platinum lost about 3 percent.
Oil prices also were undercut by analysts' expectations for higher U.S. crude supplies when the Energy Department releases its weekly inventory report on Thursday. Analysts on average forecast a rise of 2 million barrels, according to Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
In other energy futures trading:
- Heating oil fell 2 cents to end at $3.16 per gallon.
- Wholesale gasoline fell 6 cents to finish at $3.06 per gallon.
- Natural gas rose 1 cent to end at $3.28 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Original Print Headline: Oil, precious metal prices fall 2 percent
