Oil, Copper Rise on Positive Signs on US Economy

Crude oil and copper prices rose Tuesday following the latest positive signs that the U.S. economy was improving.

Increases in orders for manufactured goods and new-home sales last month suggested that a pickup in the economy could cause demand for energy and basic building materials to rise.

Oil for February delivery rose 31 cents, or 0.3 percent, to close at $99.22 in a shortened session on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

U.S. financial markets will be closed Wednesday.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 3 cents, 1.2 percent, to $2.81 a gallon; heating oil rose 2 cents, 0.5 percent, to $3.07 a gallon; and natural gas fell 5 cents, 1.1 percent, to $4.469 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In metals trading, the actively traded March contract for copper rose 6.65 cents, or 2 percent, to $3.374 a pound.

February gold rose $6.30, or 0.5 percent, to $1,203.30 an ounce. March silver rose 7.1 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $19.48 an ounce. January platinum rose $9.10, or 0.7 percent, to $1,336.50 an ounce.

March palladium edged down 20 cents, less than 0.1 percent, to $695.45 an ounce.

Crop futures were mixed.

Corn for March delivery rose a quarter of a penny, or 0.1 percent, to $4.345 a bushel; March soybeans rose three cents, or 0.2 percent, to $13.2275 a bushel; and March wheat fell 3.25 cents, or 0.5 percent, to $6.0625 a bushel.