Commodities Update — Gold dips; Wheat slides; Peru’s inflation at 24-years high; Russia expects $200bn China trade

Commodities Update — Gold dips; Wheat slides; Peru’s inflation at 24-years high; Russia expects $200bn China trade

RIYADH: Gold prices fell on Monday, as elevated US Treasury yields pressured demand for zero-yield bullion, ahead of a widely expected big interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve to contain rising inflationary pressures. Spot gold retreated 0.4 percent to $1,888.56 per ounce, as of 2.41 a.m. GMT. US gold futures dropped 1.3 percent to $1,886.90. Spot silver fell 0.6 percent to $22.60 per ounce, while platinum dipped 0.5 percent to $926.58. Palladium slid 2.2 percent to $2,268.48. Chicago wheat futures dropped to a three-week low on Monday, falling for a fourth consecutive session, as rains in key growing parts of the US plains provided much-needed relief to the crop. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was down 1.8 percent at $10.37 a bushel, as of 2.35 a.m. GMT, after hitting its lowest since April 8 at $10.34 a bushel earlier in the session. Corn and soybean prices eased with a focus on US planting. Corn fell 1.5 percent to $8.01 a bushel. Soybeans were down 1 percent to $16.68 a bushel. Peru’s annual inflation rate hit 7.96 percent in April, its highest level in 24 years, as the copper-producing Andean nation grapples with protests over