Commodity Blog

Gold was little changed today after reaching the lowest level in five and a half years earlier. Traders wait for today’s minutes from the Federal Reserve that may provide hints about probability of an interest rate hike in December. Prospects for monetary tightening are unfavorable to the metal. December futures for delivery of bullion were basically unchanged at $1,069.1 per troy ounce as of 11:07 GMT on COMEX today. Intraday, prices tumbled to $1,062 — the lowest since February 2010.

Copper also hanged near a multi-year low during the Wednesday’s trading session. Not only prospects for a rate lift-off weighed on the industrial metal as well as on gold, falling demand also contributed to the drop. Global economic slowdown led by China promised smaller consumption of the metal used in manufacturing and construction. March futures for copper slipped 0.14 percent to $2.1085 per pound. Earlier, prices reached $2.067 — the weakest level for a most-traded contract since May 2009.

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