011012 Wednesday's Commodities Roundup

New York - Crude oil futures ended slightly higher while products futures ended nearly unchanged Wednesday at the New York Mercantile Exchange after weekly inventory data showed a surprise drop in U.S. crude oil stocks and expected builds in refined products supplies.

A crude stocks draw of nearly 3.5 million barrels reported by the American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday wasn't seen as dramatic enough to shift market perception, analysts said, and gains were expected to fade. But paper buying came in the morning session, keeping crude oil in shallow positive ground. Some market players speculated that the one-day delay in the release of U.S. Department of Energy data provided some nervous support. The Energy Department is scheduled for release early Thursday because of the Columbus Day holiday.

November crude rose 5 cents to $22.53 a barrel. Heating oil for November delivery fell .5 cent to 64.63 cents a gallon, while gasoline held steady at 61.37 cents a gallon.

Natural gas rose 9.2 cents to $2.480 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent crude from the North Sea rose 13 cents to $22.01 per barrel.

"Crude is up because of the draw in the API," said Terry Porter, broker with FCStone. "But we're really reluctant to take a position until OPEC says something, and that might not be for another month."

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold an extraordinary meeting in Vienna Nov. 14 to discuss market conditions. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Wednesday he is considering holding a meeting in Lisbon before mid-November of representatives from OPEC and non-OPEC countries.

Chavez is looking to build a consensus on how to support oil prices, which have been tumbling in recent days. Getting the cooperation of large non-OPEC oil producing countries is crucial to any agreement to cut output to support prices.

A steep drop-off in oil demand after the Sept. 11 attacks on the U.S. and a stalling global economy have pressured crude oil prices.

In other commodity markets:

-A strong performance in U.S. equities Wednesday seemed to suggest investors' brief affair with the yellow metal might be sputtering to a halt.

December gold on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange gave up another $3 to end at $286.70 a troy ounce.

While continued efforts by disappointed speculators to reduce their long positions pressed the market lower, Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management in Evanston, Ill., saw the $285.10 low as a natural target for traders. Local traders on the Comex floor took advantage of the lows to cover their shorts, or cancel bets on lower prices, which lifted the December contract into the close.

Long positions are bets by traders that prices will trend higher while shorts are bets on lower prices.

-Hog futures fell to a four-month low at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The December contract dropped by 1.90 cents to 51.70 cents a pound after briefly touching its 2-cent limit down. Firms normally associated with speculative funds were the main sellers for the second- straight session, floor traders said.

-Cocoa futures fell on the Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange for the fourth consecutive day as speculators exited the market after its recent rally. The December contract slipped $13 to $1,042 a metric ton.

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