RIYADH: Gold prices slipped on Monday as the dollar rebounded, with expectations of sharp interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve further pressuring bullion.
Spot gold was down 0.5 percent at $1,792.76 per ounce, as of 0540 GMT, after rising about 1.6 percent last week.
US gold futures fell 0.4 percent to $1,808.20.
Silver drops
Spot silver dropped 1.2 percent to $20.57 per ounce, while platinum fell 1.2 percent to $950.62.
Palladium slipped 0.8 percent to $2,203.98.
Grains down
Chicago soybeans slid more than 2 percent on Monday, falling for the first time in three sessions after a US government report raised the country’s production forecast, with additional pressure from expectations of improved weather this week.
Corn and wheat lost more than 1 percent each.
The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 2.1 percent to $14.24-1/2 a bushel, as of 0339 GMT.
Corn fell 1.4 percent to $6.33 a bushel, while wheat gave up 1.6 percent to $7.93-1/4 a bushel.
Industrial metals down
Prices of industrial metals fell on Monday after top consumer China reported several key economic data, which missed expectations by large margins, reinforcing fears of weakening demand from the world’s biggest metals market.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.7 percent at $8,033 a ton, as of 0412 GMT, while the most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange dropped 1.3 percent to $9,160.34 a ton.
LME lead fell 1.8 percent to $2,145.50 a ton, tin declined 1.5 percent to $24,805 a ton, zinc decreased 1.4 percent to $3,539 a ton and aluminum eased 0.2 percent to $2,429 a ton.
(With input from Reuters)
