Commodities: Oil rises as US output steady at record highs

Front month West Texas crude futures rose by $1.83 to settle at $50.99 per barrel on the NYMEX.

That came despite an out-sized build of 8.43m barrels in US commercial oil inventories over the last week, according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the US Department of Energy’s statistical arm.

Some market commentary pointed a finger to figures included in the latest EIA report showing that US oil production was largely unchanged over the last reference period, at 9.29m barrels a day. However, that was still its highest since 1972, just before the first Arab Oil embargo.

In the UK all eyes were on reports that the Chancellor may announce new tax breaks for North Sea oil firms in the next Budget.

Gold futures ticked higher by 7 cents to end the day at $1,201.5 per ounce on COMEX, tracking a dip in the ‘greenback’.

Three-month copper futures on the LME came off by 0.8% to $5,770.5 metric tonne.

Meanwhile, and in the agricultural space, corn futures ended the day down by 0.5% at $3.76 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT).

Wheat futures were lower by 1.6% to $4.98 per bushel in CBoT trading.