Corn, Beans Fall on Drier Weather Predictions

Gold and silver ended the week higher after inflation fears prompted investors to pile their money back into hard assets.

Gold for June delivery rose $25.20 Friday to settle at $1,556.40 an ounce, while silver for July delivery gained $1.058 to settle at $48.599 an ounce.

Precious metal prices had fallen early in the week as some traders thought the historically high prices were unsustainable. That momentum reversed Wednesday when the Federal Reserve said it would keep interest rates near zero for the time being. That made traders worry about inflation and shift money into gold.

Once gold prices started running up, they were accelerated by so-called "momentum" trading, when investment firms start snapping up contracts simply because they're getting more expensive, said George Gero, vice president at RBC Global Futures. "This is what momentum traders love, and they climb aboard when they see these things come together," Gero said.

Other metals also rose, with the exception of copper.

July copper fell 8.25 cents to settle at $4.179 a pound. July platinum gained $25.60 to settle at $1,865.50 an ounce and June palladium rose $16.85 to $792.15 an ounce.

Grains and soybeans rose. Corn for July delivery rose 27.25 cents, to settle at $7.2925 a bushel Thursday. Soybeans rose 40.5 cents to $13.94 a bushel.

July wheat climbed 23.75 cents to $8.0125 a bushel.

Inflation fears also pushed up oil prices. Benchmark crude for May delivery rose $1.07 to settle at $113.93 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other Nymex trading, heating oil fell 2.99 cents to settle at $3.2758 per gallon, gasoline rose 2.88 cents to $3.3984 per gallon and natural gas rose 1.28 cents to $4.761 per 1,000 cubic feet.

(Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=13493070)