Sponsored by Digital Look Events

Commodities: Oil flirts with $120 a barrel

News for Spread Betters

PreviousPrevious
NextNext

There's a new Investor Edition of CMC Markets' spread betting platform... and it's exclusive to DigitalLook.com users...

Get full details about Marketmaker:Investor Edition here. Advertisement

Date: Wednesday 23 Apr 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - Crude prices inched towards $120 a barrel on supply concerns, a weaker dollar and as the May contract comes to an end.

US light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.89 to settle at a record $119.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Earlier in the session oil had hit a record high $119.90 a barrel.

Increasing demand from China ahead of the Olympics also ramped up prices. Crude oil imports rose by nearly a quarter to 4.07m barrels a day in March.

Meanwhile supply disruptions in Nigeria continue to escalate. Reports of two more attacks on Shell oil pipelines on Monday unsettled investors.

Among precious metals COMEX gold for June delivery rose $7.60 to settle at $925.20 an ounce as the dollar fell to an all time low against the euro. Its safe haven qualities were in demand with traders unsettled by a mixed bag of earnings.

May silver futures rose 35 cents to settle at $17.71 an ounce. June palladium rose 90 cents to $463.40 an ounce while July platinum rose $10.10 to end at $2,037.40 an ounce.