Global crude oil prices are lower after mediocre Chinese manufacturing data but positive US construction figures. New York's main contract, West Texas Intermediate for delivery in February, on Thursday closed down $US2.90 at $US95.44 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for February at 0731 AEDT was down $US2.99 at $US107.81 a barrel. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) showed that manufacturing activity in China fell to a three-month low in December, dipping to 50.5 from 50.8 in November. US manufacturing sector growth slowed slightly in December after six straight monthly gains, the Institute for Supply Management says. The ISM purchasing managers index for December fell to 57.0 from 57.3 the previous month. But it was still the second highest reading of the year; in January 2013 the index stood at 53.1. Gold and silver futures have surged as an influx of new investors and the rebalancing of two major commodity indexes bolstered prices. Gold for February delivery, the most actively traded contract, closed $US22.90, or 1.7 per cent, higher at $US1,225.20 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver for March delivery, the most active contract, was up 75 US cents at $20.128 a troy ounce. The first day of the new year brought a flurry of investors to the precious-metal market as portfolio managers allocated cash across the spectrum of different assets, said Graham Leighton, a precious-metals broker with Marex Spectron in New York. Leighton said markets often see increased activity at the start of a month, but "at the start of the year there tends to be more money coming in than any other month." Base metals on the London Metal Exchange (LME) closed mostly higher, but have pared back stronger gains made earlier in the session amid a backdrop of mixed readings on the global manufacturing sector. At the close of Thursday's open-outcry trading, LME 3-month copper had scaled back earlier stronger gains that saw the metal hit a seven-month high, to close 0.4 per cent higher at $US7,393 a metric ton. Aluminium closed 0.2 per cent higher at $US2,074.50 a ton, while tin, which had traded in the red all day, ended the session down 1.2 per cent at $US22,050 a ton.