LONDON (SHARECAST) - Oil stocks rose sharply early on Monday as Iran’s foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki pledged not to use its oil supplies as a bargaining tool in its row with the West.
Through the afternoon oil prices lost its steam with light crude oil for May delivery up 11 cents at $66.74 a barrel after reaching $67 earlier on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Gold returned to form on Monday, reaching a new 25-year high, with speculative buying and fund interest fuelling much of the rise, analysts said.
COMEX gold for June delivery rose $7.60 to settle at $594.30 an ounce.
The precious metal’s safe haven qualities are being sought amid inflationary concerns and fears about Iran's nuclear programme.
Silver found its feet again on Monday after dropping from a new 22-year high of $11.91 an ounce on Friday with the planned exchange-traded fund lifting demand.
Platinum also rose on Monday, building on sharp gains made last week.
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