November Job Losses Send Commodity Prices Down

The price of oil closed at $40.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, following a report from the U.S. Labor Department that monthly job losses in November were the largest since 1974.

Some 533,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. in November, driving the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, the highest in 15 years.

Crude oil lost 6.55 percent, closing Friday at the lowest settlement price since December 10, 2004, when oil closed at $40.71.

The declining oil prices may help boost retail sales, making it cheaper to go shopping as well as free some dollars in consumers’ wallets. Prices at the pumps average $1.773 a gallon, according to AAA.

Prices of gold, sliver and platinum continued their descent, closing Friday at sharply lower levels. Gold for delivery in February fell $13.30 to $752.20 per once. Silver for delivery in March closed at $9.43/once and platinum for delivery in January ended the week at $787.20/once, losing $11.60.

Other commodities, such as corn, suffered even sharper drops. Corn for delivery in March shed $24.75 to $309.25 and soybeans lost $27.50 closing at $783.50.