Gold down on cease-fire, silver gains

Gold down on cease-fire, silver gains

Tuesday, August 15th 2006

December gold settled down $5.10 at $639.30 an ounce. During the session the contract dipped to a low of $634.20.

Analysts at TheBullionDesk.com wrote that the cease-fire has kept gold, traditionally seen as a safe haven, under pressure. They noted that violence in Iraq and nuclear ambitions in Iran and

North Korea are likely to keep propping up gold prices.

“Overall the lack of convincing direction on either side, coupled with the summer holiday season should see gold spend more time treading water in its wide $605-$655 range,” wrote the analysts.

September silver settled 27.5 cents higher at $12.16 an ounce.

Consistent selling took October platinum to a session low of $1,223 an ounce. The contract settled down $21.10 at $1,233.30 an ounce.

September palladium settled down $4 at $318.30 an ounce.

Copper was burdened by lackluster summer trading conditions but managed to settle higher. Underlying support remains due to the strike at Chile’s Escondida copper mine despite news that talks advanced over the weekend. September copper settled up 6.05 cents at $3.5370 per pound.

September crude oil settled down 82 cents at $73.53 a barrel. September heating oil settled down 2.59 cents at $2.0125 a gallon. September gasoline fell 7.38 cents to $1.9905 a gallon.

September natural gas settled down 35.6 cents at $6.913 per million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, September Arabica coffee futures fell to 1 1/2-week lows Monday on speculative liquidation, following sharp losses on the London robusta market.

September Arabica coffee fell 3.55 cents to $1.0075 per pound.

The front-month September cocoa contract finished down $39 at $1,520 per metric ton.

Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for October crumbled to eight-month lows, hitting 12.47 cents ”” the contract’s weakest price since Dec. 2. October settled 0.86 cent lower at 12.50 cents a pound.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, September corn declined 2.75 cents to $2.22 per bushel. November soybeans finished 1 cent higher at $5.6925 a bushel. September wheat futures ended.25-cent higher at $3.74 per bushel.

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