Oil prices continue upward trend, gold holds steady

Oil prices rose today, Wednesday, extending a rally that began several days ago, while gold prices showed little change amid volatile trading.In oil markets, Brent crude futures for June delivery rose by US$0.52, or 0.47 percent, to reach $111.78 per barrel as of 01:54 GMT, while the more active July contracts stood at $104.84, up 0.4 percent. US West Texas Intermediate crude for June delivery also increased by $0.57, or 0.57 percent, to $100.50 per barrel.Meanwhile, gold prices remained steady with a slight upward bias, rising 0.1 percent in spot trading to $4,597.07 per ounce as of 02:43 GMT, after falling in the previous session to their lowest level since 2nd April. US gold futures for June delivery held steady at $4,610.20.Among other precious metals, silver rose 0.8 percent to $73.64 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.4 percent to $1,930, and palladium declined 0.4 percent to $1,453.91.