The price of crude oil was lower Monday after the US commerce department said that US consumer spending dropped again in December and after refiners and the United Steelworkers union reopened negotiations, preventing the steelworkers from striking and closing down some US refineries.

March contracts for West Texas Intermediate crude was down $1.60 to $40.08 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange while Brent crude for March delivery dropped $2.03 to $43.85 per barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in Europe.

In afternoon trade in New York, Nymex March gasoline futures were six cents lower to $1.21 per gallon and March heating oil futures dropped 8 cents to $1.35 per gallon, but March natural gas added 22 cents to $4.64 per million British thermal units.

Copper prices were mixed Monday on new data from the US indicating that demand will likely continue to decline after construction spending dropped in the US in December and after copper inventories in London Metal Exchange warehouses fell on the session for the first time since early in December.

March copper dropped 4 cents to $1.42 per pound in afternoon trade in New York, but three-month copper in London added $51 to $3,206 per tonne after inventories in LME warehouses dropped 325 tonnes on the session.

Meanwhile, precious metals prices were lower in New York as April gold fell $21.20 to $907.20 per troy ounce, March silver was down 15 cents to $12.42 per troy ounce, and April platinum dropped $12.20 to $980.20 per troy ounce.

Grains prices were lower in afternoon trade on the Chicago Board of Trade, with CBOT March wheat down 4 cents to $5.63 per bushel as March corn fell 3 cents to $3.70 per bushel and March soybeans dropped 20 cents to $9.59 per bushel.

Source: Investments Markets