15:06 DJS Crude Oil Higher; Gold Again Hits 19-Year Low; CRB Index Down 0.8
15:06 DJS Crude Oil Higher; Gold Again Hits 19-Year Low; CRB Index Down 0.89
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- The price of gold continued to tumble, hitting a
fresh 19-year low Friday, as investors feared Russia's currency woes mean it
will soon start exporting precious metals and other commodities into already
glutted world markets in an effort to accumulate U.S. dollars. Meanwhile,
crude-oil prices recovered, led by higher heating oil futures. In Chicago,
grains and soybeans ended broadly lower, while tumbling hog futures dragged
down the cattle complex.
The CRB-Bridge index, composed of 17 major commodity prices, fell 0.89
to 195.35. The index last touched a lower mark of 194.70 in October 1977.
Commodities, already under pressure because of Asia's financial woes,
have picked up fresh downward momentum because of Russia's problems and signs
of weakness in emerging markets in Latin America.
On New York's Commodities Exchange Friday, December gold dropped $2.20
to settle at $277.90 an ounce. Earlier Friday, gold prices hit a 19-year low
at $271.60 a troy ounce, having dropped 3.5% in 24 hours on aggressive selling
by producers and hedge funds.
September silver futures tumbled 22.3 cents to end at $4.632 an ounce.
October platinum climbed 90 cents to finish at $355.60 per ounce.
Among industrial metals, September copper tumbled 1.60 cents to settle
at 72.35 cents per pound.
Gold was fixed Friday afternoon in London at $273.40 an ounce,
unchanged from the morning fixing.
At the New York Mercantile Exchange, October crude oil rose 27 cents to
settle at $13.50 a barrel. November crude oil added 26 cents to end at $13.72
a barrel.
Among petroleum products, September unleaded gasoline rose 0.84 cent to
settle at 40.88 cents a gallon. September heating oil rose 0.68 cent to end at
34.97 cents a gallon. A few brokers said talk that a major player will take
delivery of a substantial amount of heating oil next week, when the September
products contracts expire, induced some bears to cover positions.
October natural gas ended down 5.2 cents at $1.664 per million BTUs.
Commodity markets, in general, have been hard hit by the Russian
financial turmoil, as investors worry that world commodity demand will suffer.
Oil market observers are also worried that oil-producing nations such as
Russia, Mexico, and Venezuela, will raise crude exports to earn hard currency.
Just prior to Friday's opening, Tosco said it will cut production at
East Coast refineries by 15%, which equals 70,000 barrels a day, citing poor
refining margins. Planned maintenance at Tosco's Bayway, N.J., facility is
expected to remove another 110,000 barrels a day for 35 days. "That could help
us," said a broker.
Among grains in Chicago:
December wheat fell 2 1/2 cents to settle at $2.58 1/2 per bushel.
December corn declined 4 3/4 cents to end at $2.01 3/4 a bushel. Corn
futures tumbled to new 11-year lows under pressure from government loan
programs and the foundering world financial markets.
December oats dropped 2 1/4 cents to finish at $1.08 1/4 per bushel.
November soybeans tumbled 7 1/4 cents to settle at $5.13 a bushel.
Abundant rainfall in the Midwest pushed soy complex futures to near contract
lows.
In the livestock complex:
October cattle rose 0.20 cent to end at 60.43 cents per pound.
October hogs tumbled 1.80 cents to settle at 39.28 cents per pound. Hog
futures descended to levels not seen in more than 20 years as traders watched
pork product values crash.
February pork bellies plunged limit-down 3.00 cents to finish at 49.95
cents per pound. Prices for pork loins and bellies have been in a free-fall
the last few days amid huge hog slaughters and strong competition from other
meats, analysts said. Saturday's hog slaughter could reach 100,000 head.
Among food and fiber futures in New York:
December coffee rose 2.35 cents to end at $1.1890 per pound.
December cotton dropped 1.34 cents to finish at 72.38 cents per pound.
October sugar rose 0.06 cent to settle at 7.56 cents per pound.
September orange juice fell 0.45 cent to settle at 112.75 cents per
pound.
Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
All Rights Reserved.
08/28 3:06p CDT
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