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Wednesday's Commodities Roundup
Wednesday May 11, 5:44 pm ET
Dow Jones News Service, Via The Associated Press


NEW YORK (AP) -- Crude-oil futures in New York fell more than a dollar at Wednesday to a low for the week, on the back of rising oil inventories and signs of slower demand from China.
Gains in the U.S. dollar after government data showed a leaner-than-expected March trade deficit also helped lock in losses, market participants said. Oil prices, denominated in dollars, typically decline as the dollar rises.

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"I think this is a confirmation of the fundamentals," said James Steel, director of research for Refco LLC, a New York brokerage firm. "The market has been able to trade strongly, despite the fact that inventories have built, but I do think today's crude build is beginning to push the market lower."

Benchmark light, sweet crude futures for June settled down $1.62 at $50.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil futures are up about $10 a barrel, or 25 percent, on the year.

Commercial oil inventories rose last week for the 11th time in 12 weeks, leaping to their highest level in more than three years, according to the federal Energy Information Administration. Crude stocks rose 2.7 million barrels -- more than analysts expected -- to 329.7 million barrels, said the EIA, the statistics branch of the U.S. Department of Energy.

Product futures also sold off, even though gasoline inventories rose by less than analysts had expected, with gasoline stocks east of the Rocky Mountains shrinking. While distillate inventories rose, market participants said concerns lingered over tight heating oil supplies.

Nymex gasoline futures for June settled at $1.4820 a gallon, down 2.83 cents, while heating oil futures for the same month settled at $1.4031 a gallon, down 4.65 cents.

Natural gas futures closed slightly lower, dropping for the first time this week. June futures settled 1.1 cent lower at $6.683 per million British thermal units.

Gold futures initially weakened due to a stronger U.S. dollar, but bounced on a combination of factors, including worries about rumored hedge-fund losses and possible revaluation of the Chinese yuan.

June gold settled unchanged at $427.90 after bouncing from a low of $426 Wednesday morning. Spot gold closed up 20 cents at $426.90 an ounce.

July silver slipped 2 cents to $7.095 an ounce, while the July copper contract settled down 1.45 cents at $1.4425 per pound.

Arabica coffee futures climbed on the New York Board of Trade, holding onto most of their early gains, which took the market through Tuesday's highs.

The July contract settled up 3.15 cents at $1.2475 a pound, and September rose 3.15 cents to $1.2765.

The benchmark July cocoa contract settled $6 lower at $1,491 a metric ton.

World raw sugar futures ended at one-week highs on the New York Board of Trade on Wednesday, scaling recent resistance in a late speculative surge.

July settled up 0.10 cent at 8.49 cents a pound and October gained 0.11 cent to 8.52 cents a pound.

Chicago Board of Trade May corn settled 2 cents lower at $1.9825 per bushel, and the December corn contract finished 1.50 cent lower at $2.2425 per bushel.

July wheat settled down 7.75 cents at $3.1375 per bushel.





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