Commodities prices drop

Crude oil prices were down again on Thursday after new data showed that US inventories were up again last week. While gasoline and distillates stockpiles dropped as expected, crude supplies were up by 4.8 million barrels on the week, far more than the 2.7 million barrel increase that analysts had predicted. Gasoline inventories were down by 900,000 barrels, while distillates stockpiles dropped by 3.9 million barrels over the week ending March 10.

West Texas Intermediate crude prices were at $61.99 per barrel in electronic trade on the New York Mercantile exchange after having lost 93 cents on Wednesday. April delivery Brent crude was down 32 cents in morning trade on the International Petroleum Exchange in London to $62.62 per barrel after a decline of $1.03 on Wednesday. With April contracts expiring at the end of the trading day on Thursday, May contracts lost 34 cents to $62.76 per barrel.

Precious metals were down on the day, as well. Gold dropped $1 to $5521.50/$553.20 per troy ounce. Meanwhile, silver was at $10.26/$10.29 per troy ounce, down from Wednesday’s price of $10.37. Silver had been higher earlier in the week as traders continued to speculate about a rumored launch of an investment product by Barclays Global Investors that would make it easier to buy and sell the metal. The US Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to rule on the Barclay’s proposal.

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