Commodities: Oil and copper futures advance despite dollar gains
Oil and copper futures advanced on Friday despite renewed strength in the US dollar.
Front month West Texas crude futures rose by $1.07 to stand at $93.54 per barrel by the end of trading on NYMEX.
Out on the LME meanwhile three-month copper futures edged higher by 0.34% to $6,718 per metric tonne.
That came in the wake of data released by the Commerce Department which showed the US economy grew at a revised 4.6% annualized pace in the second quarter, equalling its best performance since the recession ended in mid-2009, largely because of higher exports and business investment.
In parallel, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final September index of consumer sentiment rose to 84.6 from 82.5 in August.
“A further rise in retail sales and upbeat consumer confidence data also indicate that the economy maintained strong momentum in the third quarter,” said Markit chief economist Chris Williamson.
Gold futures for December delivery slipped by $6.7 to end the day at $1,215.40 per ounce on COMEX.
Corn futures climbed 0.5% to $3.245 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT), while the December contract for wheat gained 0.8% to $4.7825 a bushel.