Commodities: Prices drop for copper, oil, soybeans

NEW YORK — Commodity prices tumbled Friday as investors were spooked that China might have to raise interest rates to combat inflation.

That could slow down China's strong economy, which would reduce demand for many basic materials including copper, crude oil and soybeans. Many countries have relied on strong growth in China to offset weak demand in countries like the U.S., where the economy remains sluggish.

Copper for March delivery fell 12.45 cents, or 3.1 percent, to settle at $3.904 a pound. Benchmark crude for January delivery fell $2.93, or 3.3 percent, to $84.88 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

January soybeans plummeted 70 cents, or 5.2 percent, to $12.69 a bushel, while March sugar dropped 3.45 cents, or 11.6 percent, to 26.21 cents per pound.

A nearly unbroken climb higher in commodity prices over the past month also could be contributing to Friday's losses. Profit taking could be accelerating the steep decline.

In other trading, gold for December delivery fell $37.80, or 2.7 percent, to $1,365.50 an ounce. Silver fell $1.463, or 5.3 percent, to $25.942 an ounce. Heating oil for December delivery dropped 6.34 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $2.3632 a gallon, while gasoline fell 2.58 cents to $2.2099 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Natural gas fell 12.8 cents; March corn dropped 30 cents, or 5.3 percent, and wheat prices also fell, declining 34.75 cents to $6.6925 a bushel.

(Source: http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20101113/BIZ/11130319/1005/RSS03)