Crude oil for April delivery shed 78 cents, or 1.3%, to $59.27 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold was little changed as a gain in the value of the U.S. dollar against the Japanese yen reduced the appeal of the precious metal as an alternative investment. Gold for immediate delivery was at $652.75.

Silver also fell. Silver for immediate delivery fell 1 cents, or 0.1%, to $12.93 an ounce. Platinum declined $7.50, or 0.6 %, to $1,198 an ounce.

Currencies

The euro gained the most against the dollar in three weeks as European Central Bank council member Klaus Liebscher signaled interest rates will increase further. Against the dollar, the euro traded at $1.3173 in early trade in London, from $1.3116 late in New York March 9. The currency was at 155.60 versus the yen, from 155.19. The pound rose to $1.9404 against the dollar, from $1.9320 and 229.10 yen from 228.62 in early trade in London. The currency was also little changed at 67.87 pence versus the euro.