Closing Commodities: Gold Rises 0.7%, Crude Oil Falls Modestly
* August gold came off its session low of $1243.00 per ounce and rallied to a session high of $1257.90 per ounce in early morning action after the European Central Bank announced several easing measures.
* The ECB lowered all three of its interest rates and said preparations for purchases of asset-backed securities have begun. The yellow metal consolidated near the $1254.00 per ounce level for the remainder of the session and settled with a 0.7% gain at $1253.50 per ounce.
* July silver also popped on the announcement and touched a session high of $19.16 per ounce. It eventually settled at $19.09 per ounce, or 1.5% higher.
J* uly crude oil traded in negative territory for most of today's floor trade. It brushed a session high of $102.75 per barrel in late morning action after trading as low as $101.57 per barrel earlier in the session. It quickly retreated back into the red and eventually settled with a 0.1% loss at $102.51 per barrel.
* July natural gas sold off to a session low of $4.59 per MMBtu following inventory data that showed a build of 119 bcf when a smaller build of 114-116 bcf was anticipated. However, buyers stepped in and took prices back into positive territory by afternoon action. Natural gas climbed as high as $4.72 per MMBtu and settled with a 1.1% gain at $4.59 per MMBtu.