Oil Ends the Week Higher; Wheat, Corn Prices Fall

Energy prices mostly rose Friday, as crude oil closed out the week with a 2 percent gain. Wheat and corn futures fell, while metals prices ended broadly higher.

The price of crude has been rising this week, as traders anticipate higher demand from the U.S. as the economy continues to improve.

Benchmark crude for February delivery rose 41 cents to close at $94.37 in New York.

The U.S. government said Thursday that oil supplies fell by 7.7 million barrels last week, the seventh weekly decline. OPEC said in a report that it expects global demand to increase by around 1 million barrels a day, up from an increase of 900,000 barrels a day in 2013.

In other energy futures trading, natural gas fell 5.6 cents to close at $4.326 per 1,000 cubic feet, heating oil rose 3.9 cents to close at $3.024 a gallon and wholesale gasoline rose 2.5 cents to close at $2.620 per gallon.

In agricultural futures trading, wheat fell 9.25 cents to $5.635 a bushel, and corn fell 4 cents to $4.24 a bushel. Soybeans edged up 1.5 cents to $13.165 a bushel.

Gold for February delivery rose $11.70 to $1,251.90 an ounce. March silver increased 25 cents to $20.30 an ounce.

High-grade copper for March delivery was flat at $3.34 a pound.

Platinum for April delivery rose $22.60 to $1,454.10 an ounce, and palladium for March delivery rose $4.65 to $748.55 an ounce.