Oil dropped below on Friday after a regulatory probe into possible price manipulation added to trader caution and a stronger United States dollar offset the impact of a big drop in US crude stocks. US crude dipped 77 cents to ,85 a barrel by 10.30am GMT. London Brent dropped 49 cents to ,40.
Gold surged to a fresh record high on Tuesday, boosted by firm oil prices, with longer-term trends such as a weakening dollar spurring heavy buying by investment funds. Spot gold rose as far as ,80 an ounce, surpassing the previous record of ,05 reached last week.