Commodities Mostly Higher; Traders Eye Washington

Commodities prices mostly rose Monday, as traders kept a close eye on the talks in Washington aimed at avoiding a U.S. government default.

Gold and silver inched up. Many traders expect precious metals prices to jump if a deal isn’t reached and investors park their money in safe-haven assets.

December gold rose $8.40 to $1,276.60 an ounce Monday. Silver for December delivery rose 9.5 cents to $21.354 an ounce.

In other metals trading, high-grade copper for December delivery rose 3.4 cents to $3.303 a pound. December palladium rose $1.95 to $715.25 an ounce.

January platinum rose $7.90 to $1,383.50 an ounce.

Corn, soybeans and wheat futures closed slightly higher.

Corn for December delivery rose 3.75 cents to $4.37 a bushel, November soybeans rose 6.25 cents to $12.73 a bushel and December wheat rose a quarter of a cent to $6.925 a bushel.