Oil futures saw their third lowest settlement of the year on Thursday as traders fretted over record U.S. supplies and failed to see any real indications that crude output is headed for a significant decline.
Crude for delivery in April CLJ5, -0.14% settled at $43.96 a barrel, down 70 cents, or 1.6%, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, giving up much of the 2.8% gain it scored a day earlier.
The May Brent LCOK5, +0.42% crude on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $1.48, or 2.7%, to $54.43 a barrel.
In other Comex trading, April platinum PLJ5, +0.23% rose $27, or 2.5%, to end at $1,119.60 an ounce, while June palladium PAM5, +0.37% rose $1.15, or 0.2%, to $765.80 an ounce.
May copper HGK5, -0.23% jumped nearly 9 cents, or 3.5%, to $2.66 a pound after posting losses over the past two sessions.
Gold futures settled at a two-week high on Thursday, adding to gains that accelerated after the Federal Reserve signaled it would be less “patient” in hiking interest rates but indicated that rate increases would come at a gradual pace.
Gold for April delivery GCJ5, +0.08% on Comex rose $17.70, or 1.5%, to settle at $1,169 an ounce. Prices haven’t settled at a level this high since March 5.
May silver SIK5, -0.02% rallied 57.3 cents, or 3.7%, to end at $16.114 an ounce, which was also a two-week high.