Crude oil prices gain slightly on session

Crude oil prices were up slightly on Friday but still sustained substantial losses over the week. The lower prices have come with record trade volumes for both Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate crude. The Brent February contract was up 61 cents to $62.31 per barrel late in the afternoon in London, but was around 6 percent lower over the week and 14 percent lower on the year so far. Meanwhile, WTI was 33 cents higher to $52.21 per barrel on Friday but had lost 7.2 percent this week and 14 percent since the beginning of the year.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was said to be surprised by the price declines, but analysts said that OPEC is hesitant to plan more production cuts before its previously-announced 500,000 barrel per day cut goes into effect on February 1.

In the metals markets, gold was $12 higher, trading in the range of $624.30/$625.50. Gold gained 3 percent on the week. Base metals prices were lower on the day. Copper dropped $135 to $5,760 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Despite the decline, copper prices added 2.6 percent during the week. Nickel prices dropped $750 to $32,750 per tonne in the day’s trade, holding steady for the week.

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