PUNE: Brent crude oil futures fell on Wednesday on fears of a looming budget crisis in the United States, the world's top oil consumer. Brent crude fell 29 cents to $109.58 per barrel by 0940 GMT, after dropping to $109.31 on Tuesday - its lowest since November 20.
US crude shed 27 cents to trade at $86.91 per barrel. Oil traded near the lowest price in a week in New York amid signs of rising supplies in the US and concern that lawmakers are struggling to reach agreement on how to address the nation's deficit.
West Texas Intermediate futures were little changed after slipping 0.6 per cent on Tuesday. Crude for January delivery was at $87.03 a barrel, down 15 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 8:53 am London time.
The contract decreased 56 cents on Tuesday to $87.18, the lowest since November 20. Prices are down 12 per cent this year. Brent for January settlement slid 25 cents to $109.62 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.
The European benchmark contract was at a premium of $22.60 to WTI, compared with $22.69 on Tuesday. Gold fell for a third consecutive day in London on speculation improving economic data in the US will curb demand for the metal as a protection of wealth.
Reports showed on Tuesday that consumer confidence in the US rose to a four-year high and home prices gained by the most since 2010. Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.1 per cent to $1,739.60 an ounce by 9:35 am in London.
Gold for February delivery was down 0.2 per cent at $1,741.90 on the Comex in New York. Silver for immediate delivery fell 0.5 per cent to $33.895 an ounce, after reaching $34.285 on Tuesday, the highest since October 11.
Platinum was 0.5 per cent lower at $1,603.24 an ounce. Palladium slipped 1 per cent to $660.50 an ounce. It reached $672.75 on Tuesday, the highest since October 5. Malaysian palm oil futures eased on Wednesday , dropping for a second straight session on concerns that US fiscal woes could hamper global economic growth and commodity demand.
The benchmark February contract on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange fell 0.7 per cent to close at 2,394 ringgit ($784) per tonne. Prices traded in a range of 2,383 to 2,417 ringgit.
Total traded volumes stood at 31,818 lots of 25 tonne each than the usual 25,000 lots. Inventories reached 2.51 million tonne in October , according to the Malaysian Palm Oil Board. Shipments fell 1.8 per cent to 1.28 million tonne in the first 25 days of November from a month earlier, Intertek said on Monday.
Soya bean oil for delivery in January lost 0.5 per cent to 50.17 cents a pound on the Chicago Board of Trade. Soya beans for January delivery dropped 0.3 per cent to $14.4525 a bushel.
Rubber dropped for a third day as concerns grew that a failure to reach an agreement on the US budget will derail a global recovery, curbing demand for the commodity used in tires. The contract for delivery in May, the most-active by volume, fell 1.4 per cent to settle at 255.4 yen a kilogram ($3,121 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.
It was a trading holiday for Indian commodity exchanges due to Gurunanak Jayanti on Wednesday.
US budget crisis fears push down Brent Oil futures
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US budget crisis fears push down Brent Oil futures
