Metals Futures Advance As Dollar Weakens

NEW YORK (AP) -- Precious and industrial metals prices climbed Monday as the euro made a sharp move higher against the U.S. dollar.
In other commodities, energy prices declined as traders took profits from last week's rally, while agriculture futures traded mixed.
The dollar's weakness propped up gold and silver prices in midday trading. Gold typically has an inverse relationship with the dollar, as investors tend to seek out the precious metal as a so-called safe haven when the dollar is in decline.
Stephen Briggs, Societe Generale metals analyst, noted the euro changed hands above $1.36 in midday trading, not far from its high for 2007 of $1.368 in late April. At that time, gold fetched about $670 an ounce.
An ounce of gold for August delivery jumped $8.60 to $659.50 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while September silver added 21.7 cents to $12.69 an ounce.
The weak dollar also provided some support to the industrial metals market, Briggs said.
Copper prices strengthened on the London Metal Exchange amid declining inventories and concerns over a number of current and threatened mine strikes. A stronger-than-expected reading on the Institute for Supply Management's June manufacturing index also bolstered the market.
The other industrial metals, except nickel, largely followed copper's move higher. On the Nymex, September copper rose 4.45 cents to $3.495 a pound.
Elsewhere, energy prices retreated as crude fell back from its close above $70 a barrel on Friday - its highest close in 10 months. Light, sweet crude for August delivery dropped 85 cents to $69.83 a barrel on the Nymex.
Although last week's Energy Department report showing a surprise draw on gasoline inventories helped contribute to the rally, the same report also showed a 1.8 percent increase in refinery usage, which indicates a ramp-up in the output of refined products.
August gasoline rose 3.98 cents to $2.203 a gallon, while August heating oil edged up less than a penny to $2.0343 a gallon.
In Chicago, soybean futures added 4 cents a bushel to $8.88575 on top of Friday's huge jump of 39.4 cents. On that day, an Agriculture Department report showing a larger-than-expected drop in U.S. soybean acreage initially sent November soybean prices up 50 cents on the Chicago Board of Trade, the exchange's daily trading limit.
December corn prices slipped 4.25 cents to $3.465 a bushel on the CBOT, while September wheat shed 8.5 cents to $5.885 a bushel.