Gold for April delivery settled $2.20 higher at $398.70 an ounce.

Work will begin in January, with an April 1999 delivery expected.

Crude oil for April delivery plunged 79 cents, or 4 percent, to $19.06 a barrel.

Silver for April delivery closed yesterday at $6.19 an ounce, down 14.5 cents.

The gold contract for April delivery fell by $1.90 an ounce, to $442.60.

Brent for April delivery closed at $20.81 a barrel, up $1.78.

Crude for April delivery settled at $20.45 a barrel, up 77 cents.

It is a year later, and the price for April delivery is about $38.

The more active April delivery dropped by $23.20, to $366.20.

Gold for April delivery rose $8.10, to $388.20 an ounce.