Commodities finished trading mixed as crude oil futures ended weaker after Japan was hit overnight by a 8.9 magnitude earthquake. Gold finished higher.
The prospect of falling oil demand from Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer, sent crude prices lower, as did the failure of anticipated protests in Saudi Arabia to draw large crowds, AP reported.
Crude oil finished down $1.54, or 1.5%, to $101.16 a barrel. In other energy futures, heating oil was down 0.58% to $3.0273 a gallon while natural gas was up 1.59% to $3.891 per million British thermal units.
In energy ETFs, the United States Oil Fund ( USO ) is down 1.38% to $40.83. The United States Natural Gas ETF ( UNG ) is up 1.55% to $10.38.
Meanwhile, gold futures ended higher. Gold for April delivery finished up 0.71% to $1422.50 an ounce. In other metal futures, silver rose 2.73% to $36.025 a troy ounce while copper traded up 0.66% to $4.225.
The U.S. dollar index (DXY) is down 0.67% to $76.76.
In metal ETFs, SPDR Gold Trust ( GLD ) is up 0.55% to $138.53. Market Vectors Gold Miners ( GDX ) is up 2.08% to $58.01. iShares Silver Trust ( SLV ) is up 1.78% to $34.97.
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The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
