Mining Exploration News

Natural gas extended a record high on Thursday as traders considered inventory data from the Department of Energy. July natural gas closed at $12.798 per million British thermal unitys, a gain of 13.8 cents on the session. Energy Information Administration data revealed natural gas inventories were up 80 million cubic feet, which was less than the expectations of analysts.

Prices turned back higher on Wednesday in U.S. trading. Natural gas closed at $12.66 per million BTUs, up 22 cents on the session. Prices had fallen by nearly 23 cents in the two previous sessions.

Crude oil closed modestly higher on Thursday after erasing a slump from earlier in the morning. Light sweet crude for July delivery ended at $136.74, up 36 cents for the day. Prices touched as low as $131.56 in mid-morning activity but turned higher in the early afternoon to close higher for the second straight day.

Oil had added more than $5 on Wednesday to recoup some of its losses from the slump earlier this week. Prices closed at $136.38, up $5.07 on the day. Crude climbed amid the release of inventory data that showed another sharp drop in supplies.

U.S. crude oil inventories decreased by 4.6 million barrels in the week ended June 6, according to Energy Information Administration data released on Wednesday morning. At 302.2 million barrels, stockpiles are at the lower boundary of the average range for this time of year. Experts were looking for a more modest decline of about 1.1 million barrels. Over the last four weeks, stockpiles are down nearly 24 million barrels.

Crude oil returned more than $7 combined in Monday and Tuesday’s trading and surrendered some of last week’s record rally. On Friday, crude set new records for an intraday high, closing high and one-day price gain. Oil climbed as high as $139.12, a record intraday high.

Gold closed sharply lower on Thursday after hitting a six-week low in the early morning. August gold finished at $869.00, down $13.90 on the day. The metal touched as low as $859.60, its lowest mark since May 2.

The metal’s hedge value was reduced as the U.S. dollar gained against other majors amid the release of strong retail sales data. The buck hit a four-week high against the sterling and also climbed against other majors, including the euro, franc and yen. Crude oil prices also cooled off, further reducing the need to turn to gold as a safety option for investors.

Gold reversed its course on Wednesday and closed the session higher. Gold for August delivery ended at $882.90, up $11.70 on the session. The greenback fell in the mid-day as Federal Reserve vice chairman Donald Kohn said the Fed should temporarily allow higher inflation and unemployment in times of an oil price shock.

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