Commodities: Dollar bounce caps gains in gold

Swings in the US dollar continued to call the tune for commodity prices, with a bounce in the Greenback´s helping to limit further gains in precious metals.

As of 1940 GMT, front month gold futures on COMEX were 0.82% lower as a result and changing hands at $1,202.20/oz., alongside somewhat larger falls in prices for silver and spot platinum.

Among bulk metals, March 2017 COMEX copper futures surrendered 0.40% to $2.6075 a pound.

Of interest in the same space, analysts at South African broker SP Angel noted reports that the Hong Kong Exchange was planning to launch a dollar-denominated, cash-settled iron ore futures contract.

Lastly, certain agricultural futures came under heavy selling pressure.

March 2017 ICE-traded cocoa futures ended the day down by 3.09% to $2,164 a metric tonne, while similarly-dated wheat futures on the Chicago Board of Trade lost 1.74% to end the day at $4.2350 a bushel.

The US dollar spot index was higher by 0.42% and trading at 101.35, with Bloomberg´s commodity index fractionally lower to 88.18.