Crude oil and copper prices rose Thursday on the latest positive signs about the U.S. job market.

Both commodities are sensitive to changes in the economic cycle and demand for them tends to increase when the economy is expanding.

Crude oil for January delivery gained $1.59 to close at $95.44 a barrel, the highest closing price this month. December copper rose 3.2 cents to $3.1915 a pound.

The government reported that the number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell last week to the lowest since September.

In other metals trading, December gold fell $14.40 to $1,243.60 an ounce. Silver for December delivery fell 12.4 cents to $19.934 an ounce. January platinum fell $7.90 to $1,391.70 an ounce. December palladium fell 60 cents to $713.25 an ounce.

In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline added 8 cents to $2.74 gallon, heating oil rose 5 cents to $3.01 a gallon and natural gas rose 3 cents to $3.70 per 1,000 cubic feet.

December corn rose 6 cents to $4.23 a bushel, December wheat rose 1.5 cents to $6.4875 a bushel and January soybeans rose 17.75 cents to $12.915 a bushel.