Oil futures ended the first trading day of 2015 on the same note they finished 2014, sliding to another round of lows on a surging U.S. dollar and a global glut of crude. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude futures for delivery in February CLG5, -0.86% fell 58 cents, or 1.1%, to close at $52.69 a barrel, the lowest finish since April 2009. February Brent crude LCOG5, -1.43% on London’s ICE Futures exchange remained 13 cents lower at $56.29 a barrel, a loss of 0.2%.
Elsewhere in the metals complex, silver for March delivery SIH5, +1.19% rose 20.1 cents, or 1.3%, to $15.80 an ounce. Platinum for April delivery PLJ5, -0.40% fell $7.20, or 0.6%, to $1,202.30 an ounce. Palladium for March delivery PAH5, -0.44% lost 80 cnets to $797.60. High-grade copper for March delivery HGH5, -0.41% was off 0.1% at $2.828 a pound.
Gold prices rebounded in choppy trading Friday as equities stumbled in the wake of weaker-than-expected economic data, but the precious metal remained on track for a weekly loss. Gold for February delivery GCG5, +0.48% rose $2.70, or 0.2%, to $1,186.80 an ounce, with volume thin at the end of the holiday season. Still, the bounce was impressive, coming off an earlier low of $1,167.30.
Oil futures ended the first trading day of 2015 on the same note they finished 2014, sliding to another round of lows on a surging U.S. dollar and a global glut of crude.
