In the energy market on Tuesday, crude for April delivery gained $1.52 to close at $39.96/barrel. March reformulated gasoline rose 4 cents, to $1.0837/gallon.

Gold traded sideways through Hong Kong and most of London but fell through the floor mid-morning in New York then remained range-bound between $960 and $970 the rest of the day through the Globex, finishing at $962.70/oz., down $29.00. Overnight, gold is sharply lower.

The base metals were mixed on Monday. Copper was still in the green at mid-morning, but then skidded, dropping just into the red and finishing at $1.4496/lb., down a quarter of a cent. Nickel hit a late morning slump that dropped it from positive territory to its intraday low of $4.2139/lb., down 3 2/3 cents.

In the energy market on Monday, crude for April delivery arrived as front-month contract by falling off to close at $38.44/barrel, down $1.59. March reformulated gasoline dropped 2 2/3 cents, to $1.0433/gallon.

The base metals were little changed on Thursday. Copper leapt ahead from the pre-dawn hours to mid-morning in New York, briefly popping over $1.50 before easing through the rest of the day to finish at $1.4712/lb., up 2½ cents.

The base metals were directionless on Wednesday. Copper seesawed its way through a lot of ups and downs, but with an ultimate bias to the upside as it finished at $1.4462/lb., up two cents. Nickel also had some sharp reversals, but eventually fell to its intraday low of $4.2887/lb., down 11¼ cents.

In the energy market on Wednesday, oil slipped slightly lower, with crude for March delivery sinking to close at $34.62, down 31 cents. March reformulated gasoline continued its slide, losing 4.5 cents, to $1.0652/gallon.

The base metals were all leaking red on Tuesday. Outside of a brief morning blip up, copper declined from the pre-dawn hours straight through, finishing at its intraday low of $1.4256/lb., down 11 cents from Friday. Pretty much the same story for nickel, which closed at its intraday low of $4.4006/lb., down more than 20 cents.

n the energy market on Tuesday, oil turned south again, with crude for March delivery sinking to close at $34.93, down $2.58 from Friday. March reformulated gasoline also dropped, losing 9.6 cents, to $1.11/gallon.

Gold hit its high in late Hong Kong trading on Monday, then declined slowly but steadily to the late Comex, where it bottomed at $890 before rallying a bit through the Globex to finish at $895.00/oz., down $16.40. Overnight, gold has been flat.