COMMODITIES : Crude Oil Futures Soar 91 Cents in Late Trading

NEW YORK — Energy futures ended higher in volatile trading Friday, led by a jump in crude oil.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the February contract for West Texas Intermediate, the main grade of U.S. crude, surged 91 cents to close at $23.67 a barrel.

The March contract closed 49 cents higher at $22.08 a barrel, while April rose 40 cents to $21.37.

Analysts attributed the sharp rise in the February contract to last-minute buying before the contract expires on Monday.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, the most-active contract for heating oil to be delivered in February rose 1.82 cents to 63.66 cents a gallon. February unleaded gasoline rose 0.91 cent a gallon to 61.62 cents.

Prompt demand for heating oil was reignited by a return to colder temperatures and forecasts for snow in the Northeast this weekend, dealers said.

But analysts said they doubt that an Arctic cold front such as the one that swept through the United States in December will be seen again this winter and that demand for oil may slacken, mirroring a slowdown in economic growth.

On other commodity markets, metals were lower, grains and soybeans were mostly lower and livestock and meat futures were mixed.

On New York’s Commodity Exchange, copper futures finished 1.7 to 3.05 cents lower, with the contract for delivery in January at $1.01 a pound. The more heavily traded March contract settled at 99.3 cents a pound.

Wheat and soybean futures fell on the Chicago Board of Trade, dropping sharply near the close on selling linked to slack export demand and improved growing conditions for winter wheat and South American soybeans.

Wheat futures sank to their lowest levels in almost four months, extending a decline that began Thursday when large amounts of snow and rain began falling on wheat fields from the Texas panhandle to southern Kansas.

But Friday’s pattern of steep losses only in the March and May wheat contracts indicated that the selling was inspired more by slack export demand than the beneficial weather.