Commodities prices continue a weeklong slide

Commodities prices ended broadly lower Friday as weakness in corporate earnings reports dimmed the outlook for the U.S. economy.

The government reported a slight pickup in U.S. economic growth for the third quarter Friday, to 2 percent from 1.3 percent in the second quarter, but that's still not fast enough to make a dent in the unemployment rate, which currently stands at 7.8 percent.

Metals prices ended lower, continuing a weeklong slide. Platinum and palladium fell about 1.5 percent, while gold, silver and copper had smaller declines.

Stocks were weak for most of the day following poor results from Goodyear Tire, Interpublic and other companies. That weighed on investors' expectations for the economy,

Gold for December delivery fell $1.10 to settle at $1,711.90 an ounce. December silver fell 4.20 cents to $32.036 an ounce and December palladium fell $9.10 to $595.40 an ounce. January platinum fell $22.80 to $1,546 an ounce.

In energy trading, benchmark oil rose 23 cents to end at $86.28 per barrel in New York.

Heating oil rose 3.57 cents to end at $3.0978 per gallon, wholesale gasoline rose 2.27 cents to end at $2.6991 per gallon and natural gas fell 3.4 cents to end at $3.40 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Crop futures fell. December wheat fell 9 cents to $8.6375 a bushel, December corn fell 4.25 cents to $7.3775 a bushel and November soybeans fell 2.75 cents to $15.6125 a bushel.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/commodities-prices-continue-weeklong-slide-193756396--finance.html

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