Oil and precious metals

Oil rose for a third day as a report that U.S. refineries were raising production spurred expectations demand for crude will grow. Oil for May delivery rose as much as 41 cents, or 0.7%, to $62.42 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and traded at $62.36. Brent crude for May settlement rose as much as 35 cents, or 0.5%, to $68.19 a barrel in electronic trading on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

Gold gained on speculation a decline in the dollar against the euro will increase demand for the metal as an alternative investment. Gold for immediate delivery climbed $1.10, or 0.2%, to $678.40 an ounce. Palladium for immediate delivery rose $6, or 1.6%, to $373 an ounce. Silver dropped 3 cents to $13.835 an ounce and platinum advanced $1.50 to $1,269 an ounce.

Currencies

The euro gained slightly on against the dollar on Thursday, trading around two-year highs as the European Central Bank prepared to deliver its verdict on euro-zone interest rates. The euro bought $1.3449 in morning European trading, up from $1.3427 in New York late Wednesday. The British pound fell slightly to $1.9744 from $1.9753, while the dollar rose to 119.42 Japanese yen from 119.30 yen.