Gold Tracks China Lower

Ivaylo
28 Feb, 2007
New York City

Gold futures finished lower Tuesday for the first time in three sessions on concerns that Chinese demand for commodities may weaken, and price losses worsened in electronic trading after U.S. stocks suffered their biggest one-day loss in more than five years. The decline sent many metals-mining shares to their lowest levels in a month. Traders are concerned that measures that slow the Chinese economy will reduce demand for metals.

[R]5:00AM Gold declines as Chinese stock market plunges on Tuesday.[/R]
Gold futures for April delivery closed down $2.60 at $687.20 an ounce, while May silver managed to almost recover from a decline to $14.42 an ounce to end at $14.69, down 14.2 cents. May copper lost 1.6%, or 4.5 cents, to close at $2.825 a pound. June palladium fell by $4.90 to close at $356.60 an ounce but April platinum closed $11.30 higher at $1,253.30 an ounce.

Crude oil futures closed at two-month highs. The front-month April crude contract settled up 7 cents at $61.44 a barrel, the highest for a front-month contract since Dec. 22. Front month March gasoline added 3.84 cents to end at $1.8161 a gallon. March heating oil settled up 2.31 cents at $1.7793 a gallon and March natural gas lost 17 cents to finish at $7.533 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures closed weaker but industry buyers curbed a speculative-led slide to three-day lows. March closed down 0.55 cent at $1.1730 a pound, with May off 0.60 cent at $1.1830. Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for March reached a two-month high, as they settled up 0.43 cent at 11.45 cents a pound, with May up 0.11 cent at 10.80 cents.