Gold settles slightly lower; WTI little changed

New York (Aug 27)   Gold finished slightly lower today as the focus remained on stocks in the wake of the S&P 500’s first-ever close above 2,000.

Gold for December delivery settled down 0.1 percent at $1,283.40 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Money managers have cut their wagers on a bullion rally in three of the past four weeks, and open interest in New York futures and options is near the lowest in five years, U.S. government data show.

The S&P was little changed today after yesterday closing above 2,000 for the first time.

In other metals, September silver finished up nearly 0.1 percent at just below $19.41 an ounce.

October platinum rose 0.1 percent to $1,419.90 an ounce, while September palladium rose 0.6 percent to $893.90 an ounce. High-grade copper for September delivery declined less than a penny at $3.18 a pound.

In energy markets, West Texas Intermediate was little changed as government report showed that crude inventories rose for a fourth week at Cushing, Oklahoma, the contract’s delivery point.

WTI for October delivery rose 2 cents to settle at $93.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Supplies at the hub increased by 508,000 barrels to 20.7 million last week, the Energy Information Administration said. National crude stockpiles fell by 2.07 million barrels. The EIA forecasts U.S. output will reach 9.28 million barrels a day in 2015, the highest annual average since 1972.

Source:  ProactiveInvestors