Metals prices closed broadly lower Monday, while energy prices ended mixed and wheat fell almost 3 percent, AP reported. Gold for August delivery fell $14.90, or 1.2 percent, to settle at $1,277.10 an ounce. Other metals fell even more. Silver for July delivery slumped 46.6 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $19.493 an ounce. July platinum fell $40.40, or 2.9 percent, to $1,329.10 an ounce and September palladium fell $17.10, or 2.5 percent, to $657.65 an ounce. July copper fell 7.10 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $3.0245 a pound. The price of oil ended higher after the stock market reversed much of an early sell-off in afternoon trading. Benchmark oil for August delivery rose $1.49 to close at $95.18 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil sank $4.55 a barrel, or 4.7 percent, Thursday through Friday after the Federal Reserve spooked investors by signaling the end of its bond-buying program. In other energy trading, natural gas slipped 3 cents to finish at $3.74 per 1,000 cubic feet (28.32 cubic meters). In agricultural futures trading, July wheat fell 19 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $6.79 a bushel. December corn fell 9.75 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $5.465 and November soybeans were flat at $12.735 a bushel.
