Commodities Prices Mixed

Energy futures were generally higher Thursday, with crude rebounding from an early downtick to continue its ascent above $60 a barrel.

April oil futures were lately at $60.19, up 12 cents, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas was surrendering 2 cents to $7.62 per million British thermal units, while heating oil was fractionally higher at $1.69 a gallon.

Gasoline was up 1 cent to $1.72 a gallon.

Turning to metals, gold, following a $23 surge Wednesday, was down $2.10 to $681.90 an ounce. Silver was off 2 cents at $14.25 an ounce, and copper was ahead by 9 cents to $2.76 a pound.

At the New York Board of Trade, cocoa and cotton futures slipped, while coffee and sugar edged higher.