LONDON (SHARECAST) - Crude futures settled lower on Wednesday amid worries over the upcoming Eurozone leaders' meeting and a less than pleasing overview of the US economic situation from the Federal Reserve. The Fed's "Beige Book" of anecdotal evidence about the state of the US economy showed a picture of an economy that has seen no real pick-up since August, though at least things have not got materially worse. “Contacts generally noted weaker or less certain outlooks for business conditions,” the report indicated. The November contract for crude dropped $2.23 (2.5%) to finish at $86.11 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, having traded between $85.93 and $89.51 during the day. Oil inventories for the week ended 14 October were down by 4.7m barrels, according to the Energy Information Administration. Natural gas was on the up, rising 0.93% to finish at $3.59 for its November contract. All four of the main precious metals futures contracts fell as well, as widespread concerns over ongoing demand continued from Tuesday, following a report from China which said economic growth had slowed, and a separate report from the Federal Reserve which reported modest economic growth in the US. Gold, hit by the stabilised dollar, fell for a third consecutive day, dropping 0.35% on its December contract to close at $1,647, while the silver contract for the same month fell 1.74% to $31.28.

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