Gold, silver fall as US dollar appreciates

(AP) Gold, silver fall as US dollar appreciates
By The Associated Press
Gold and silver prices fell Friday as the U.S. dollar continues to appreciate against other currencies, especially the Japanese yen.

Gold for June delivery lost $32 to $1,436.60 an ounce. It’s down 14 percent so far this year.

Silver also fell. The July contract lost 25.3 cents to settle at $23.658 an ounce. Platinum and palladium also dropped, while copper edged higher.

Gold led metals prices lower as the dollar strengthened against other currencies. The dollar has risen sharply against the yen after Japan’s central bank announced an aggressive economic stimulus policy that involves flooding the country’s financial system with cash.

The dollar traded above 100 yen Thursday for the first time in four years. It rose to 101.53 yen Friday.

July platinum fell $30.50 to $1,486 an ounce and June palladium fell $9.05 to $705.70 an ounce.

July copper rose 1.25 cents to $3.353 a pound.

Energy prices and grains and beans ended lower.

Crude oil for June delivery slipped 35 cents to close at $96.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It traded as low as $93.37 in the morning.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $2.86 a gallon, heating oil lost 3 cents to $2.91 a gallon and natural gas fell 7 cents to $3.91 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In July agricultural contracts, wheat fell 19.25 cents to $7.0425 a bushel, a drop of 2.7 percent. Corn fell 12.5 cents to $6.3625 a bushel, or 1.9 percent.

Soybeans fell 9.75 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $13.99 a bushel.