Gold, platinum pressured by profit-takin

Gold, platinum pressured by profit-takin

Profit-taking sent gold and platinum futures lower in New York Thursday, traders and analysts said.

August gold lost $10.30 to settle at $632.50 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver also fell but in a less pronounced move, losing 6 cents to $11.065 an ounce.

“It was quiet on the floor and all of a sudden orders came in and there was nobody to buy,” said Leonard Kaplan, president of Prospector Asset Management. “It was long liquidation.”

“Honestly, I think it’s just a little bit of money being taken off the table after yesterday’s sharp rally,” said Mike Zarembski, futures analyst with Xpresstrade. “I think some of the big players are not seeing the gold rally sustaining, so are taking a little money off the table.”

October platinum settled $11.20 lower to $1,226.30 an ounce, while September palladium lost $6.05 to $312 an ounce.

September copper plummeted 18.40 cents to settle at $3.4095 per pound.

Crude oil for August delivery rose 42 cents to $73.08 a barrel before expiring. The September crude oil contract settled down 50 cents to $74.47 a barrel.

August gasoline settled up 1.79 cent to $2.2477 a gallon. August heating oil fell 3.11 cents to $1.9340 a gallon.

August natural gas rose 22.9 cents to settle at $6.091 a million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures ended at 10-month lows. September ended down 1.35 cents at 95.80 cents a pound and December lost 1.30 cents to 99.80 a pound.

September cocoa finished up $11 at $1,514 per metric ton.

Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for October settled down 0.05 cent at 15.31 cents a pound and March lost 0.05 cent to 15.69 cents a pound.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, September corn lost 2.25 cents to $2.4250 a bushel. November soybeans finished 1.75 cents lower at $6.0550 a bushel. September wheat jumped 13.50 cents to $4.0650 per bushel.

(AP)

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