A surging U.S. dollar pushed oil prices on Tuesday to their lowest settlement for the month of March, ahead of data that are expected to show a ninth straight weekly rise in U.S. crude supplies.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude for delivery in April CLJ5, +1.35% settled at $48.29 a barrel, down $1.71, or 3.4%. The settlement was the lowest for a most-active contract since Feb. 26.
Brent crude for April delivery LCOJ5, +0.74% on London’s ICE Futures exchange fell $2.14, or 3.7%, to end at $56.39 a barrel.
Elsewhere in metals trading, April platinum PLJ5, +0.05% declined by $18.60, or 1.6%, to $1,130 an ounce, while June palladium PAM5, +0.12% lost $18.85, or 2.3%, to $804.10 an ounce.
May copper HGK5, +0.27% shed 4.7 cents, or 1.7%, to settle at $2.624 a pound.
Gold futures on Tuesday took a hit from a rally in the U.S. dollar, with prices for the precious metal logging their lowest settlement since November.
- Gold for April delivery GCJ5, +0.14% lost $6.40, or 0.6%, to settle at $1,160.10 an ounce on Comex. That was the lowest settlement since Nov. 12, based on the most-active contracts. May silver SIK5, +0.17% also fell 14.3 cents, or 0.9%, to end at $15.633 an ounce.
