Gold, silver recover; energy prices edge lower
Gold, silver recover a little after a rough week; energy prices broadly lower
Gold and silver prices ended slightly higher Friday at the end of a rough week.
It was the first gain for gold after four straight losses. Traders have been dumping gold since last week after the Federal Reserve laid out a possible exit from its bond-buying program. The prospect of the program ending helped allay traders' fear of inflation and diminished the appeal of gold.
August gold rose $12.10, or 1 percent, to close at $1,223.70 an ounce. Gold is still down 9 percent since last Wednesday, when the Fed made its announcement.
Silver for July delivery jumped 91.8 cents, or 5 percent, to $19.451 an ounce. Silver is down 3 percent since the Fed news.
July platinum rose $11.70, or 0.9 percent, to $1,336.90 an ounce and September palladium rose $10, or 1.5 percent, to $660.70 an ounce. July copper fell 0.2 cents, or 0.1 percent, to $3.0505 a pound.
Crop prices were lower. The actively traded contract for wheat delivered in September fell 16 cents to $6.5775 a bushel. Corn for December delivery fell 27.5 cents to $5.11 a bushel. Soybeans for November delivery fell 23.25 cents to $12.52 a bushel.
Crude oil fell 49 cents to $96.56 a barrel.
In other energy trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, heating oil fell 1 cent to $2.88 a gallon, natural gas fell 2 cents to $3.57 per 1,000 cubic feet and wholesale gasoline rose 1 cent to $2.75 a gallon.
