Commodities Update — Gold inches lower; Soybean, corn ease; COFCO International sets 2030 target on soy land use

RIYADH: Gold edged lower on Tuesday, as the US dollar rebounded slightly after a slide in the previous session, weighing on demand for greenback-priced bullion.

Spot gold fell 0.2 percent to $1,850.40 per ounce, as of 0240 GMT, after rising to its highest since May 9 of $1,865.29 on Monday. 

US gold futures were flat at $1,848.20. 

Silver falls, Palladium up

Spot silver dipped 0.3 percent to $21.71 per ounce, while platinum eased 1.3 percent to $946.00. 

Palladium edged up 0.1 percent to $1,994.50. 

Wheat up

US wheat futures extended gains on Tuesday, supported by a slower pace of spring wheat planting and amid fears over yield for the winter crop in the US, while corn fell after output concerns in key producer Brazil eased with minor frost.

The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.21 percent at $11.92-1/2 a bushel, as of 0348 GMT.

Corn eased 0.45 percent to $7.82-3/4 a bushel and soybeans edged 0.28 percent lower to $16.82-1/4 a bushel.

Copper eases

London copper prices edged lower on Tuesday after hitting a more than two-week high in the previous session, as the dollar rebounded and demand worries persisted due to ongoing lockdowns in top consumer China.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.4 percent at $9,510.50 a ton, as of 0217 GMT, after hitting its highest since May 5 at $9,565 on Monday.

The most-active June copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.2 percent to $10,827.48 a ton.

COFCO International sets 2030 target on soy land use in South America

COFCO International has committed to making its soy supply chain free of deforestation and land conversion by 2030 in environmentally sensitive regions of South America, including the Amazon and Cerrado, the Chinese-owned crop merchant said.

Like other global grain traders, COFCO International has previously pledged greater auditing of soybean crops to help stem land clearance in Brazil that is blamed for reducing biodiversity and contributing to global warming.

The 2030 target would cover the Amazon rainforest region, Brazil’s Cerrado savannah belt and the Gran Chaco zone, which spans parts of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Paraguay, COFCO International’s CEO Wei (David) Dong said in a sustainability report published by the company on Monday.

(With input from Reuters)