(MENAFN- ProactiveInvestors) Gold for February delivery declined 1.4 percent to finish at $1184.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
For the year gold prices declined 1.5 percent compared with the Dec. 31 2013 settlement price of $1202.30 an ounce.
Gold prices have tumbled from $1379 an ounce earlier this year or 14 percent dragged down by sluggish demand from Asia and a stronger dollar. Prices touched a four-year low last month.
In other metals trading silver for March delivery lost 4.2 percent to settle at $15.60 an ounce. Silver has declined 19 percent from its year-ago settlement of $19.37 an ounce.
for April delivery declined 0.8 percent to settle at $1209.50 an ounce. The metal is off 12 percent for the year.
Palladium for March delivery fell 0.7 percent to finish at $798.40 an ounce an 11 percent increase over the year.
High-grade copper for March delivery declined 1 percent to just under $2.83 a pound.
Copper futures recently fell to their lowest level since June 2010 and are down 17 percent for the year.
In energy trading crude-oil prices declined today ending a rough 2014 for the commodity where prices fell 46 percent.
West Texas Intermediate for February delivery slid 1.6 percent to finish at $53.27 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
That's a far cry from a year ago when the most-active contract settled at $98.42 a barrel. Today’s prices slipped even as U.S. commercial inventories declined more than expected for the week.
Brent for February settlement fell 2 percent to $56.75 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange after touching $55.81 also the lowest since May 2009. Prices have decreased 49 percent this year. The European benchmark crude traded at a premium of $3.78 to WTI on the ICE compared with $12.38 at the end of last year.
Oil’s slump has disturbed markets from the Russian ruble to the Nigerian naira and squeezed government budgets in producing nations including Venezuela and Ecuador. It has also boosted China’s emergency crude reserves and helped shrink fuel subsidies in India and Indonesia. Low prices have prompted U.S. producers including and Inc. to plan spending cuts for 2015.
Group Inc. said it expects a “far lower” new normal for prices and Plc said oil has “further downside risk.”
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