Metals End Mostly Higher, Led By Palladium, Copper

Metals futures rose Wednesday, led by palladium, platinum and copper. Beans and grains fell slightly, and crude oil futures hovered around $100 a barrel.

The actively traded March contract for palladium, an industrial metal whose uses include making catalytic converters for cars, rose $12.70, or 1.8 percent, to settle at $729.05 an ounce.

Platinum for delivery in April increased $19.50, or 1.4 percent, to $1,407.30 an ounce. March copper rose 4 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $3.26 a pound.

April gold edged up $5.20 to $1,295 an ounce. Silver for March delivery increased 19 cents to $20.34 an ounce.

U.S. crude oil for March delivery rose 43 cents to $100.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other energy futures trading, wholesale gasoline gained 1 cent to $2.76 a gallon, heating oil fell 2 cents to $3.01 a gallon, and natural gas was flat at $4.82 per 1,000 cubic feet.

March agricultural contracts edged lower.

Wheat fell 3 cents to $5.87 a bushel, corn declined 2 cents to $4.40 a bushel, and soybeans fell 12 cents to $13.23 a bushel.