Gold and silver prices rose Tuesday as President Barack Obama gained support for a U.S.-led strike on Syria. Crude oil prices also rose as President Obama won support from key Republicans in Congress for a strike, which could threaten to disrupt the flow of oil from the Middle East. However, Congress remains divided, meaning it's not clear that it will sign off on an attack.
Precious metals rose as the simmering tensions over Syria prompted investors to buy safe-haven assets. Gold for August December delivery rose $15.90 to $1,412 an ounce. Silver rose 91.9 cents to $24.382 an ounce. Industrial metals were mixed.
December copper rose 7.15 cents to $3.3045 a pound. October platinum rose $11.10 to $1,538.20 an ounce and December palladium fell $5.90 to $717.95 an ounce. November soybeans rose 29.25 cents to $13.8675 a bushel. December corn fell 6.75 cents to $4.7525 a bushel and December wheat also fell 6.75 cents to $6.4725 a bushel. Crude for October delivery gained 89 cents to $108.54 a barrel in New York.
In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline dropped three cents to $2.86 per gallon, heating oil rose one cent to $3.15 per gallon and natural gas climbed nine cents to $3.67 per 1,000 cubic feet.