Gold Plummets, Soybean Rallies

Ivaylo
17 May, 2007
New York City

Gold and silver futures plunged Wednesday, pulled down by the firmer U.S. dollar and technical selling. The most-active July copper contract dipped also injured by the the stronger dollar, news about a decline in building permits and chart-based factors. On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybean futures closed sharply higher after climbing to 6-week highs on aggressive fund buying interest.

[R]5:30AM Gold and silver tumble Wednesday, soybeans surge sharply.[/R]

June gold plungedl $13 to finish at $661.50 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while July silver plummeted 38.5 cents to close at $12.93 an ounce. July platinum fell $13.80 to $1,325.80 an ounce, while June palladium held up better, shedding just 95 cents to $357.50 an ounce. The most-active July copper contract lost 11.50 cents to settle at $3.4225 per pound.

July soybeans ended 14.75 cents higher at $7.9275 a bushel, and November soybeans finished 14.25 cents stronger at $8.2125 a bushel. July wheat slipped 5.25 cents to $4.9675 a bushel. July corn finished 4.5 cents higher at $3.76 a bushel. July Arabica coffee closed 2.4 cents stronger at $1.0970 a pound, while September coffee closed 2.4 cents higher at $1.1250 a pound. July raw sugar settled 0.03 cents higher at 8.68 cents a pound.

The front-month June crude oil contract ended 62 cents, or 1%, lower at $62.55 a barrel, after earlier trading at $61.90 a barrel. Front-month June gasoline futures gained 3.54 cents, or 1.5%, to finish at $2.337 a gallon. June heating oil fell 2.32 cents, or 1.3%, to $1.867 a gallon. Natural gas for June delivery settled 2.6 cents higher at $7.89 a million British thermal units.