Investors avoid commodities ahead of earnings

NEW YORK — Gold and other commodities sold off Friday as investors refrained from buying risky assets as they await more clarity on the economy from earnings reports.

Investors are anxious ahead of the flood of corporate earnings coming next week from big-name companies including General Electric Co., Bank of America Corp. and Google Inc.

Uncertain about the economy’s prospects for a second-half recovery, investors are hoping companies will be able to give them a clearer picture of when the nearly two-year long recession will end.

Commodities had a good day on Thursday after a better-than-expected report from aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. stoked some buying. But a warning from oil company Chevron Corp. later that day put a damper on the market’s optimism.

Investors sent commodity prices soaring this spring on hopes that the economy was improving and that demand for basic materials would pick up. Meanwhile, a falling dollar had stirred up fears of inflation, which drove gold higher.

The buying has cooled off since mid-June, however, amid evidence that consumers are clearly in no mood to spend with job security so frail.

The dollar’s recent strength isn’t of any help to commodities either since they’re priced in dollars. That makes them more expensive to foreign investors when the dollar rises against other currencies.

On Friday, the dollar gained ground against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen, giving overseas investors little reason to buy gold, oil and other commodities.

“The yellow metal succumbed to the perception that inflation — if it happens — is still a distant prospect, and that what investors may need to worry about more at this time, is the poor character of the recovery that is supposedly underway in the global economy,” Jon Nadler, senior analyst at Kitco Metals Inc., wrote in a research note Friday.

Gold for August delivery slipped $3.70 to settle at $912.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices shed 2 percent this week.

September silver fell 29 cents to $12.6450 an ounce, while July platinum lost $2.60 to $1,101.40 an ounce.

Among base metals, September copper futures fell 2.6 cents to $2.2115 a pound. Aluminum prices slid 1 percent.

Oil prices closed below $60 a barrel Friday amid growing pessimism about the economy. Crude fell 10 percent this week and has lost 18 percent since hitting an eight-month high of just over $73 on June 30. The International Energy Agency said Friday it expects energy demand to drop 2.9 percent this year.

Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 52 cents to settle at $59.89 a barrel.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery fell about a penny to $1.6505 a gallon and heating oil for August delivery fell less than a penny to $1.5335.

Natural gas for August delivery slipped 3.5 cents to settle at $3.373 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Grain prices fell on the Chicago Board of Trade.

September wheat futures dipped 3.5 cents to $5.1875 a bushel, while corn for September delivery slid 1.25 cents to $3.2825 a bushel.

August soybeans fell 2.75 cents to $10.4475 a bushel.