Gold and Grain Futures Higher

Gold ended higher and grain contracts climbed in Wednesday trading.

The August contract rose $7.10 to end at $1,374 per ounce. July silver fell 5.4 cents to $21.623 an ounce, and copper lost 1.4 cents to $3.1410. July platinum dropped by $16.20, or 1.1 percent, to $1,423.90 an ounce, and palladium for September delivery gave up $11.95, or 1.7 percent, to $696.40.

Benchmark crude finished 20 cents lower, at $98.24 per barrel, on the Nymex. Other energy contracts were higher. Gasoline rose 1.3 cents to $2.89 a gallon, heating oil added a penny at $2.97 a gallon and natural gas gained 5.8 cents to $3.96 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Wheat rose 19.5 cents, nearly 3 percent, to $7.07 a bushel; corn rose 20 cents, almost 4 percent, to $5.71 a bushel and soybeans were up by 21 cents a bushel to $13.11.