Commodities : Tuesday, June 9, 1987 : Precious Metals Prices Rise

The market’s perception that the economic summit in Venice is producing no new initiatives to stabilize the dollar sent foreign currency and precious metals futures sharply higher Tuesday, analysts said.

In other markets, corn was lower while wheat and soybeans were mostly higher; livestock futures were generally weak, and gasoline futures were mostly higher while other energy contracts were mostly lower.

Currency futures put on a show of strength, said Craig Sloan, an analyst in New York with Smith Barney, Harris Upham & Co. Some of the momentum may have come from pent up demand from the past few days as traders held back while giving the summit a chance, he said.

“But now it seems that, regarding the exchange rate, all that’s going to come out of the summit is a confirmation of the Paris accords” when major industrial nations agreed in February to try to stabilize the dollar, Sloan said.

“There’s been a lot of rhetoric about the dollar having fallen far enough,” said Sloan, “but the market doesn’t seem to be paying any mind and the dollar continues to weaken.”