Soybeans Edge Higher, Wheat Futures Fall

The price of soybeans rose Friday as traders anticipate greater demand from China. Wheat and corn futures fell.

Gold and silver fell, but platinum and palladium rose. Energy prices closed mixed.

July soybeans rose 8.75 cents to settle at $13.81 a bushel Friday. July wheat fell 11.25 cents to $6.925 a bushel and July corn fell 4.75 cents to $6.1975 a bushel.

Traders have been picking up soybean futures on signs that demand from China for beans and soybean meal has been increasing, said Brandon Marshall, a commodity trader at Northstar Commodity in Minneapolis.

Marshall said he expected the decline in the price of wheat to be temporary. Unfavorable weather for the U.S. crop, including rain and frost in the Midwest, will likely drive prices higher.

In metals trading, gold for June delivery edged down $8.40 to $1,453.60 an ounce. On Thursday it jumped 2.7 percent, the biggest gain since last June.

Silver for May delivery fell 38.20 cents to $23.758 an ounce. Copper for delivery in the same month fell 5.25 cents to $3.1845 a pound.

Palladium for June delivery rose 55 cents to $681.95 an ounce, and platinum for July delivery rose $12.40 to $1,476.50 an ounce.

The price of oil slipped after the government reported that the U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first quarter than economists were anticipating. Benchmark oil for June delivery fell 64 cents to $93 a barrel. It’s still up nearly $5 a barrel this week.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 2 cents to $2.83 per gallon, heating oil was flat at $2.90 a gallon and natural gas lost 2 cents to $4.15 per 1,000 cubic feet.