RIYADH: Gold prices held steady on Wednesday as worries over the Ukraine crisis sustained demand for the safe-haven metal, although calls from US Federal Reserve officials for sharper interest rate hikes weighed on market sentiment.
Spot gold was little changed at $1,923.47 per ounce by 0311 GMT.
US gold futures were up 0.1 percent at $1,923.40.
Soybean rise
Chicago soybean futures rose for a third consecutive session on Wednesday with signs of strong export demand for US cargo supporting prices, even as South American harvest peaked.
Wheat gained ground as expectations of a prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict heightened concerns over global supplies.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.3 percent at $17.01-1/4 a bushel, as of 0232 GMT.
Wheat rose 0.2 percent to $11.20-3/4 a bushel, while corn lost 0.2 percent to $7.51-1/4 a bushel.
Aluminum prices inch higher
London aluminum prices edged higher on Wednesday as risks of supply shortages amid the heightened Russia-Ukraine conflict underpinned prices.
The benchmark London Metal Exchange aluminum added 0.1 percent to $3,508 a ton by 0114 GMT.
On the other hand, Shanghai aluminum lost 0.5 percent to $3,598.81 a ton.
Indian shares rise
Indian shares rose on Wednesday, helped by heavyweight banking stocks, with investors also taking cues from broader Asian markets that hit three-week highs.
The blue-chip NSE Nifty 50 index rose 0.58 percent to 17,416.05 and the benchmark S&P BSE Sensex added 0.55 percent to 58,312.33 by 0354 GMT.
After falling nearly one percent on Monday and extending those losses into the first half of Tuesday due to higher oil prices, both the indexes staged a mid-day reversal to end more than one percent higher as investors bought into the dip.
(With inputs from Reuters)
