Oil prices ease as Syria tensions ebb; Metals down

The price of oil eased back from its highest level in more than two years as the likelihood of an immediate attack on Syria appeared to fade.

Metals prices also fell broadly Thursday, and prices for grains and beans ended mixed.

Oil fell $1.30, or 1.2 percent, to $108.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Other energy prices also fell, except for natural gas.

Heating oil lost 2.3 cents to $3.19 per gallon, natural gas rose 3.6 cents to $3.62 per 1,000 cubic feet and wholesale gasoline fell 3.10 cents to $2.93 per gallon.

Gold for December delivery edged down $5.90 to $1,412.90 an ounce. Other metals prices also fell.

Silver for September delivery fell 30.1 cents to $24.09 an ounce.

Copper for September delivery fell 5.75 cents to $3.244 a pound, October platinum fell $17.70 to $1,522.40 an ounce and September palladium fell $8.30 to $737.75 an ounce.

Crop futures were mixed.

December corn edged up less than a penny to $4.815 a bushel, November soybeans fell 4.25 cents to $13.685 a bushel and December wheat fell 5.25 cents to $6.5425 a bushel.