Oil prices down as EU/Iran talks begin

Three-month nickel futures were up 3.2 percent on Monday to trade at $24,650 per tonne after rising as high as $24,750 earlier in the day. The advance was spurred by inventories that are down to around two days of global consumption. London Metal Exchange warehouses are down to stockpiles of 8,904 tonnes, their lowest level in nearly a year.

The advance in nickel took other base metals with it. Copper added 0.3 percent to $7,760 per tonne, while zinc gained 1.6 percent to $3,505 per tonne after LME inventories dropped to 207,250 tonnes, a five year low.

Precious metals, however, saw declines during the session. Gold dropped 0.5 percent to $626.90 per troy ounce in European trade after falling as far as $620 per troy ounce earlier in the day. Silver was down 1.3 percent to trade at $11.16 per troy ounce.

Crude oil prices were also down after representatives from Iran said that opening talks with the European Union over the Middle Eastern nation’s nuclear program were “fruitful”. One analyst said that oil prices could drop as much as $5 per barrel if Iran agrees to the EU incentive package. Elsewhere Kuwait, which holds around one-tenth of world oil reserves, appointed a new energy minister.

August contracts for Brent crude were down $1.01 to $72.50 per barrel on the International Petroleum Exchange in London. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 82 cents to $73.27 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange by mid-session.

Discuss this in the Finance Markets forums

Story link: Oil prices down as EU/Iran talks begin