Commodities Update — Gold falls to 10-week low; Soyoil retreats; Copper dips

The most-active corn contract on CBOT added 0.52 percent to 8.16-1/2 a bushel. Image: Shutterstock
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RIYADH: Gold prices fell to a 10-week low on Thursday, as an elevated US dollar hurt demand for greenback-priced bullion, while an impending Federal Reserve interest rate hike also dented the metal’s appeal as an inflation hedge.

Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,877.18 per ounce, as of 0519 GMT, its lowest since Feb. 16. US gold futures slipped 0.6 percent to $1,877.70.

Silver down

Spot silver dropped 0.8 percent to $23.09 per ounce. 

Platinum eased 0.6 percent to $912.22, while palladium gained 1.5 percent to $2,234.98.

Chicago soyoil futures retreat

Chicago soyoil futures retreated on Thursday after rallying to a record high in the previous session following the Indonesian ban on palm oil exports.

July soyoil futures on the Chicago Board of Trade settled down 0.22 cents at 84.5 cents per lb.

CBOT soybean also edged down, while corn and wheat prices climbed higher as adverse weather continued to threaten harvest of the grains.

The most-active corn contract on CBOT added 0.52 percent to 8.16-1/2 a bushel, while wheat climbed 0.25 percent to $10.94 a bushel.

Soybean futures fell 0.16 percent to $16.9 a bushel.

LME copper dips

London copper prices slipped on Thursday as growing worries over demand due to continued COVID-19 restrictions in top metals consumer China and a stronger US dollar weighed on sentiment.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.7 percent at $9,790 a ton, as of 0520 GMT.

The most-active May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.2 percent to $11,110.10 by noon break.

(With inputs from Reuters)