RIYADH: Gold prices steadied after early losses on Monday, buoyed by lower Treasury yields and a slight pullback in the dollar, while investors braced for a 75-basis-point interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve this week.
Spot gold was unchanged at $1,725.17 per ounce, as of 0232 GMT, after declining 0.2 percent in early deals. It had hit a more than one-week high on Friday.
US gold futures eased 0.2 percent to $1,723.40 per ounce.
Platinum, Palladium slip
Spot silver was steady at $18.58 per ounce.
Platinum eased 0.2 percent to $871.43, while palladium slipped 1.5 percent to $2,001.62.
Grains rise
Chicago wheat futures rose more than 2 percent on Monday, recouping some of the previous session’s sharp losses, as Russia’s missile attacks raised concerns over Ukrainian supplies, despite a deal between the two nations.
Corn rose 1.2 percent, while soybeans added 0.2 percent.
The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade climbed 2.5 percent to $7.78 a bushel, as of 0215 GMT.
Corn gained 1.2 percent at $5.70-3/4 a bushel and soybeans rose 0.2 percent to $13.18-1/4 a bushel.
Metals fall
Prices of base metals in London eased on Monday as worries of a slowing global economy weighed on markets.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dipped 0.5 percent to $7,418 a ton by 0312 GMT, sliding after a rally in the previous week.
LME aluminum fell 1.6 percent to $2,436.50 a ton and zinc dipped 0.2 percent to $2,986 a ton.
(With input from Reuters)
