Commodities Update — Gold ekes out gains; Corn, soybean down; Copper up; Five more grain ships leave Ukrainian port; 

Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,781.40 per ounce, as of 0241 GMT. (Shutterstock)
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RIYADH: Gold prices edged higher on Tuesday, supported by a dip in US bond yields, although a stronger dollar and concerns over further rate hikes by the Federal Reserve kept gains in check.

Spot gold was up 0.1 percent at $1,781.40 per ounce, as of 0241 GMT.

US gold futures eased 0.1 percent to $1,796.70.

Silver slips

Spot silver slipped 0.3 percent to $20.20 per ounce, while platinum fell 0.1 percent to $932.01. 

Palladium was up 0.1 percent at $2,148.76.

Corn down, wheat up

Chicago soybean and corn futures lost more ground on Tuesday, with expectations of crop-friendly US weather conditions and declining demand in top importer China weighing on the market.

Wheat ticked higher after two sessions of losses.

The most-active soybean contract on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 0.7 percent to $14.02-1/4 a bushel, as of 0309 GMT.

Corn gave up 0.3 percent to $6.26-1/4 a bushel, while wheat added 0.8 percent to $8.07-1/2 a bushel.

Copper rises

Copper rose on Tuesday, tracking upbeat sentiment in the US markets on prospects that the Federal Reserve can achieve a soft landing for the economy, but gains were limited as weak China data clouded the demand outlook in the biggest consumer.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.8 percent at $8,040 a ton, as of 0307 GMT, having dropped 2.8 percent in the previous session, the steepest daily decline in a month.

The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed 0.6 percent to $9,180.38 a ton.

Turkey says five more grain ships leave Ukrainian ports

Five more ships have left Ukrainian ports carrying corn and wheat, three from Chornomorsk and two from Pivdennyi, under an UN-brokered grain export deal, Turkey’s defense ministry said on Tuesday.

It added that four more ships bound for Ukraine were to be inspected on Tuesday by the joint co-ordination center, set up by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and the UN in Istanbul.

One of the ships leaving on Tuesday was the Brave Commander, carrying the first cargo of humanitarian food aid bound for Africa from Ukraine since Russia’s invasion, Refinitiv Eikon data showed.

(With input from Reuters)