Commodities Report: December 20th, 2010

Gold is up moderately this morning after two weeks of lower prices reportedly brought jewelers and other buyers into the market. Most other precious metals also advanced. Gold for February delivery is up $5.20, or about 0.37%, to $1,384.70 an ounce on the Comex in New York. The contract briefly poked above $1,388 an ounce overnight but began retreating after a military exercise by South Korea concluded without any apparent retaliation from the North. Copper is climbing for a second day, returning back near an all-time high, on speculation that an improving U.S. economy will bolster demand for the widely used industrial metal. March copper is up $0.455 to $4.2045 this morning, or $0.0245 below the intra-day record set Dec. 14. Oil likewise is higher, with the February contract adding $0.52 to $89.06 demand will rise with the the U.S. economy. Crude pared earlier gains as the dollar rose against the euro, diminishing the investment appeal of commodities. Crude prices last week climbed 0.3 percent as economic data from the U.S. and Germany found growing signs for a recovery. Natural gas also is higher this morning.In company news, Carl Icahn late Friday reported a 5.8% stake in Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK). He now owns over 38.6 million shares of the natural-gas company, up 22 million shares since the end of September, according to regulatory filings. Constellation Energy Group Inc. (CEG) said over the weekend that Chief Operating Officer Michael J. Wallace, 63, plans to retire in April.