Commodities Update — Gold flat; Wheat extends gain; Copper buoyed by easing China curbs

Commodities Update — Gold flat; Wheat extends gain; Copper buoyed by easing China curbs

RIYADH: Gold prices were flat on Thursday, as an elevated US dollar and rising Treasury yields weighed on greenback-priced bullion, with the metal’s outlook already dampened by an aggressive Federal Reserve stance on inflation. Spot gold held its ground at $1,813.96 per ounce, as of 0512 GMT. US gold futures were flat at $1,813.40. Spot silver was flat at $21.40 per ounce, while platinum dropped 0.8 percent to $927.78. Palladium rose 0.5 percent to $2,027.38. US wheat extended gains on Thursday, after India unexpectedly banned wheat exports last week, while the Russia-Ukraine war kept underpinning global grains markets. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.89 percent at $12.41-3/4 a bushel. CBOT wheat had climbed more than 8 percent over the past two days, following India’s wheat ban and reports showing bad condition of US winter crop. CBOT soybeans edged up 0.95 percent to $16.78-1/2 bushel, extending gains, while corn rose 0.48 percent to $7.85-1/4 a bushel. London copper prices inched higher on Thursday, buoyed by easing COVID-19 restrictions in top metals consumer China, although mounting worries over a global economic slowdown limited gains. Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was up 0.2