Metals prices higher

Metals prices were up a bit on Tuesday. Gold added $1 from yesterday’s late quote in New York to trade at $569.70/$570.70 per troy ounce at the end of the session in London after having gone as low as $560 per troy ounce earlier in the session. Silver, meanwhile, added 20 cents to close the day in London at $10.09 per troy ounce.

Copper was also up, adding $20 to trade at $6,800 on the London Metal Exchange after trading lower than yesterday’s prices for most of the session. Copper inventories in LME warehouses are still very low. Also playing into the price rise was a strike threat at Chile’s Escondida mine and fears of lower demand due to China’s move to make loans more difficult to obtain.

Crude oil prices, however, were lower on the day, even though the US Energy Information Administration said that long term oil demand will rise to 118 million barrels per day by the year 2030, from current demand levels of around 86 million barrels per day even though higher prices would cut some usage. It sees most of the demand growth coming in the transportation sector, where there are few practical alternatives to the use of petroleum products. The EIA also said that by 2030, the share of the worlds oil demand supplied by the OPEC nations would drop from 39.7 percent to 38.4 percent.

Also apparently not affecting the price of oil was a statement from the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States, who said yesterday that oil prices could triple if the current conflict over Iran’s nuclear program takes a military turn.

August contracts for Brent crude lost 31 cents to $67.80 per barrel by late afternoon on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery lost 18 cents to $68.80 per barrel by late morning on the New York Mercantile Exchange. With that contract closing and the end of trade today, WTI for August delivery came into focus, dropping 45 cents to $69.10 per barrel.

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