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Oil futures rose for the second straight day on Thursday amidst conjecture that U.S. fuel demand is likely to grow, Bloomberg reports. A U.S. Energy Department report indicated gasoline stockpiles last week dropped by 7 million barrels to 209.7 million, representing the largest decline since October 1998. "The talk is that this U.S. inventory report… Read more.
The anticipated need to rebuild earthquake- and tsunami-damaged regions of Japan pushed up copper futures for the first time in six days, Bloomberg reports. Demand for the metal is expected to manifest in as little as three months. Copper is used for power lines, transformers and batteries, all of which are in need of repairs… Read more.
Severe flooding in Northeast Australia has severely harmed the agriculture sector of the state of Queensland with damage estimates exceeding $1 billion in production lost to the natural disaster, according to media reports. Flooding and consequences are expected to last for several more weeks. Commodities such as wheat, coal and sugar have suffered. Twenty percent of… Read more.
Precious metals' values might minimally increase amidst speculation about a weakening dollar, Bloomberg reports. Bullion for immediate delivery climbed 0.1 percent, an increase of $1.62, to $1,386.87 per troy ounce just before noon in London. Immediately-delivery silver remained stable at $29.3325 per troy ounce. Spot prices for palladium and platinum increased 0.8 to $748.08 per… Read more.
Precious metals' prices are increasing as a direct result of concerns about debt-stricken banks in Europe as investors seek safety against the shaky economies and currencies, Bloomberg reports. Gold futures for February delivery increased 1.3 percent on Monday to $1,385.60 per troy ounce. Silver futures for March delivery went up 2.5 percent to $27.87 per… Read more.