Commodities: Oil benefits from dollar decline

Dollar weakness and a more positive outlook on commodities in general sent oil prices up nearly 2% Thursday.

Crude for September delivery rose by $1.37 to $78.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, with an early dip cured by an initial leap on equity markets.

Stocks were buoyed by an 11,000 decline in US jobless claims to 457,000 last week, although gains disappeared later in the session.

But crude held on as traders see economic data as a good indicator of demand for energy.

On the metal market, gold edged higher, this time when equities turned south after the early rally.

The August contract finished up $8 at $1,168.40 an ounce in New York. The weak dollar helped, while investors also took the opportunity to do a spot of bargain hunting. 


Elsewhere, silver and copper followed gold’s example, adding 1%, while palladium hit a month high after rising almost 5% in Thursday’s session. 
Source: Digitallook