Oil futures jumped past $50 a barrel on Thursday, headed for their fifth straight daily gain as Saudi Arabian airstrikes in Yemen raised fresh concerns over potential disruptions to crude supplies.
May crude CLK5, -1.79% climbed 98 cents, or 2%, to $50.19 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It hit an intraday high of $52.48 a barrel, according to FactSet data.
May Brent crude LCOK5, -1.54% on London’s ICE Futures exchange rose $1.70, or 3%, to $58.18 a barrel.
Other metals traded on Comex climbed along with gold. May copper HGK5, -1.03% rose 1.9 cents, or 0.1%, to $2.811 a pound.
April platinum PLJ5, -0.31% tacked on $7.50, or 0.7%, to $1,154 an ounce and June palladium PAM5, -0.74% rose $7.95, or 1%, to $773.35 an ounce.
Gold futures rallied past $1,200 an ounce on Thursday to settle at their highest level since early March as investors backed away from riskier assets amid a selloff for global equities and increased tension in the Middle East.
Gold for April delivery GCJ5, -0.30% climbed $7.80, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,204.80 an ounce on Comex. Prices have now climbed for seven sessions in a row, tallying a total gain of 4.9% during their streak of gains.
May silver SIK5, -0.55% added 14 cents, or 0.8%, to end at $17.14 an ounce.