crude oil prices

Oil prices spiked as anxiety over the proposed bailout of the financial system battered the dollar and sent investors scrambling for safe-haven assets.

Crude oil prices fell to $91.39 a barrel in early trading on Tuesday, after closing under the symbolic $100-a-barrel threshold on Monday.

New York precious metals were violently battered downward Tuesday, as silver, gold and platinum lost 2.9 percent, 1.3 percent, and 6.7 percent, respectively.

The metals followed crude-oil prices, which neared $100 per barrel on expectations OPEC would not reduce output and new forecasts showing Hurricane Ike's aim could miss major refining operations in the Gulf.

New York silver, gold and platinum all dropped sharply Tuesday, helped by falling crude-oil prices and a rally in the U.S. dollar.

The latter was spurred along by furthering concerns over the economic picture in Europe and Asia.

PetroChina is expected to report that its first-half net profit fell by at least a third, analysts say, as losses in its refining business eroded gains from surging crude oil prices.

This past week was highly eventful, with the DJIA losing about 400 points on Monday and Tuesday, but regaining about 300 points on Thursday and Friday.

Crude oil prices moved in the reverse order, finishing with a drop of about 5 dollars back to 114 dollars a barrel on Friday.

New York silver and platinum rallied sharply Thursday with each rising over 5%. Gold shined as well moving up 2.8%.

A soft U.S. dollar that was tripped by financial worries and rebounding crude-oil prices were cited as precious metals catalyst shakers.

The dollar's rally against other major currencies and the continual slippage in crude oil prices surged US stocks forward while silver, gold and platinum took it on the chin.

The precious metals experienced their third consecutive weekly losses in London with silver falling 9.3 percent, gold 6.3 percent and platinum 4.8 percent.

Gold settled, remaining largely unchanged for the week after Iranian tensions appeared to ease and financial markets stabilized.

Weaker crude oil prices also weighed in to help keep gold in check. Platinum experienced five pounding days of losses as lowering supply fears slammed prices down.

Crude oil prices rose sharply on the world's commodity markets tonight after the head of Opec dismissed as "irrational and illogical" a call by Gordon Brown for the cartel to pump more oil.