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The dollar inched lower against the yen and euro after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen suggested the central bank’s first rate hike since 2006 may not occur until the second half of the year.
The dollar USDJPY, -0.24% was at ¥118.89 Tuesday afternoon, compared with ¥118.83 late Monday in New York. The euro EURUSD, +0.05% traded at $1.1342, compared with $1.1336.
The ICE U.S. Dollar Index DXY, -0.10% a measure of the dollar’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six other currencies, declined 0.14% to 94.4410.
March silver SIH5, +1.90% lost 6 cents to settle at $16.19 an ounce.
March copper HGH5, -0.55% advanced by 6 cents to $2.65 a pound. April platinum PLJ5, +0.96% dipped by 30 cents to settle at $1,162.60 an ounce, while March palladium PAH5, +1.18% gained $4.05 to $790 an ounce.
Nymex reformulated gasoline blendstock for March RBH5, -0.48% —the benchmark gasoline contract—fell 2.6 cents, or 1.6%, to close at $1.6202 a gallon. Nymex natural-gas futures for March delivery NGH15, +0.79% rose 2.3 cents, or 0.8%, to $2.902 per million British thermal units.
The U.S. crude-oil benchmark failed to hold on to initial gains Tuesday, losing ground for a fifth straight session as traders awaited the latest round of supply data.
West Texas Intermediate crude futures for delivery in April CLJ5, -0.04% lost 17 cents, or 0.3%, to close at $49.28 a barrel. WTI’s losing streak is the longest since August.
Brent crude for April delivery LCOJ5, +0.41% on London’s ICE exchange also failed to hold on to initial gains, dropping 24 cents, or 0.4%, to close at $58.66 a barrel.
Gold prices on Tuesday edged down but finished off their session low after Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen gave testimony to Congress.
Gold for April delivery GCJ5, +0.95% settled down $3.50, or 0.3%, at $1,197.30 an ounce. The contract dropped to an intraday low as Yellen’s prepared remarks hit, but then recovered much of that slide. Still, gold suffered a third straight session of declines, and it finished under the closely watched level of $1,200.
