Crude gained for the first time in four days after three pipelines in Alberta were shut because of flooding, sending Brent oil’s premium to WTI to the narrowest level in more than two years. "There’s a lot of concern in the market about the situation in Alberta,” said Bob Yawger, director of the futures division at Mizuho Securities USA Inc. in New York. It appears that the impact of the flooding will be worse than was earlier projected. The loss of Canadian barrels should increase the demand for U.S. crude, which rose $1.49 to settle at $95.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
GOLD
Gold fell in New York as prospects that the Federal Reserve will reduce monetary stimulus curbed demand for the metal as a protection of wealth. Bullion has slid 24 percent this year, as some investors lose faith in it as a store of value and as speculation grew that the Fed will taper debt-buying that helped the metal rally for 12 years. Gold slumped to $1,268.70 an ounce on June 21, the lowest since September 2010. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lowered its year-end price forecasts through 2014.