Gold finishes higher, crude drops
Gold, metals rise as crude contracts slide on lower demand forecast
NEW YORK (AP) -- Gold and silver finished higher Thursday, while most energy futures were down.
Gold for June delivery rose $6.10 to $1,564.90 an ounce. May silver picked up 4.4 cents at $27.6970 an ounce. May copper added 1.55 cents to $3.4335.
July platinum was higher as well, rising $6 to $1,535.80 an ounce. June palladium finished at $733.35, up $12.50.
Benchmark crude oil ended below $94 a barrel, down $1.13 at $93.51. Oil prices dropped after the International Energy Agency cut its world demand forecast for this year.
Heating oil fell 4.8 cents to $2.90 per gallon, and wholesale gasoline was down 3.4 cents to $2.83 a gallon. Natural gas rose 5.4 cents to $4.1390 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Major agricultural contracts were higher. Wheat was up a penny at $6.9775 a bushel, corn gained 2.25 cents at $6.5125 per bushel and soybeans added 9.25 cents at $14.02.