Saturday, March 5, 2011

Gold, oil prices settle in New York higher again

Gold, oil prices settle in New York higher again ; Gold and oil continued to take advantage of tense North Africa and Middle East situation as both hot commodities settled higher for the weekend here.

The region is home to the largest oil producers on earth and export a quarter of the world's oil. The bullion surged above $1430 while the black gold edged past $104 a barrel mark in New York closing.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude for April delivery gained $2.51 to settle at $104.42 per barrel in New York, the highest level since September 26, 2008.

In London, Brent crude rose $1.18 to settle at $115.97 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Gold for immediate delivery ended at $1427.34 an ounce while on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold gained $12.20 to $1,428.20 per troy ounce.

Analysts also attributed positive US unemployment data for the upheaval. US Labor Department said country’s unemployment rate dropped to 8.9 percent in February.

They said the geo-political tensions that has been influencing both gold and oil from the start of this year, is likely to extend to more areas in the region.

On Fridays’, Tensions escalated in Libya as Gadhafi loyals used tear gas against protesters in Tripoli. Rebels also attacked the oil port of Ras Lanouf, about 380 miles east of Tripoli.

Meanwhile, world’s largest oil exporter Saudi Arabia has increased production to make up for the loss of Libyan crude, but a lengthy struggle could put significant pressure on world supplies.

In other Nymex trading for April contracts, heating oil added 4 cents to settle at $3.0893 per gallon and gasoline futures gained 2.02 cents to settle at $3.0464 per gallon. Natural gas picked up 3.1 cents to settle at $3.809 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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