Commodity prices fall as Gustav spares Gulf

The price of crude oil, gold, copper and other commodities has fallen on world markets as hurricane Gustav spared the US Gulf states from the devastation caused by Katrina and Rita in 2005.   ┬á Crude oil for October delivery fell as low as $105.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, 8.7 percent less than on 29 August. Today's trading is combined with yesterday's for settlement purposes because of the Labor Day holiday in the US. ┬á┬á Standard & PoorÔÇÖs GSCI index of 24 commodity futures has dropped as much as 7.0 percent in two days, to its lowest level since 2 April. Oil is trading at a five-month low, 27 percent below the record $147.27 a barrel reached 11 July. ┬á┬á Workers from more than 70 percent of the platforms and rigs in the Gulf were evacuated as Gustav approached. All of the area's 1.3 million barrels a day of oil and 7.06 billion cubic feet of gas, 95 percent of the total, was closed down. Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Total SA and ConocoPhillips said they were inspecting offshore US Gulf platforms today. ┬á┬á Gold for immediate delivery fell as much as $16.28, or 2.0 percent, to $801.42 an ounce, the biggest decline since 19 August. The gold price fell as lower oil prices diminished the appeal of the precious metal as a hedge against inflation.   ┬á┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á