Gold, Silver Drop as Funds Bail Out
Anthony Buccino

NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Late-day liquidation sent gold and silver futures lower Thursday, with the selling accelerating in silver when the market went through its previous lows and fell to its weakest level in a month, traders and analysts said.

April gold settled down $7.40 at $665.10 a troy ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. May silver settled down 58.5 cents at $13.65 an ounce.

"Gold continues to be buffeted by speculative liquidation, some disillusionment in the wake of its anemic reaction to turmoil in paper assets and by improving geopolitical conditions," said a research note from Jon Nadler, analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers.

April platinum settled down $11.20 at $1,245.20 an ounce, while June palladium settled down $2.55 at $354.05 an ounce.

London afternoon gold traded at $670.40 an ounce versus $664.20 Wednesday.

U.S. spot gold at 1:31 p.m. EST traded at $662.20 an ounce, down $7.15.

Most-active May copper settled up 0.25 cent at $2.7545 per pound. March copper closed up 0.35 cent at $2.7465 per pound.

The April crude contract settled up 21 cents at $62.00 a barrel. April heating oil settled down 0.18 cent at $1.7763 a gallon. April gasoline settled up 3.62 cents at $1.9101 a gallon after trading as high as $1.9170 a gallon, the highest level for a front month contract since late August.

April natural gas settled down 1.2 cents at $7.288 per million British thermal units.

On the New York Board of Trade, Arabica coffee futures dropped to 1 1/2-week lows before roaster buying blunted the speculative-led sell-off. The March contract closed down 1.70 cents at $1.16 a pound, with May off 1.90 cents at $1.1660.

Cocoa futures skyrocketed to sharply firmer levels amid fund and speculator buying. Overall market conditions were thin, which may have exacerbated the overall market move. No fresh fundamental news was seen behind the hefty price jump. May cocoa settled up $71 at $1,803 per metric ton.

Futures on raw sugar in foreign ports for May settled up 0.41 cent at 10.97 cents a pound, with July up 0.34 cent at 10.81 cents.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, corn futures ended lower but well off session lows as late short covering and end-user buying helped trim earlier declines. March corn ended 8 cents lower at $4.17 1/4 per bushel, May corn settled 7 1/2 cents lower at $4.28, and December finished 6 3/4 cents lower at $4.13 1/4.

Soybean futures ended sharply lower amid heavy long fund liquidation and a weak technical picture. May soybeans closed down 25 1/2 cents at $7.62. It was the contract's lowest close since Feb. 12.

May wheat dropped 9 cents to $4.79 per bushel.

-By Anthony Buccino, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5137; anthony.buccino@dowjones.com