Gold surrenders 0.5%; oil drops 1.3%

Chicago (May 28)  Gold dropped to levels not seen since early February as Russia said it will respect the vote for Ukraine’s new leader.

Gold for June delivery lost 0.5 percent to finish at $1,259.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, finding no rebound from its 2 percent retreat a day earlier.

August gold fell 0.5 percent to settle at $1,259.70. Prices ended at their lowest level since Feb. 6.

In other metals, July silver dropped nearly a penny to end at $19.06 an ounce.

Palladium rose to the highest since August 2011 after South African mining companies and a labor union failed to reach an accord to end a pay strike.  July platinum increased 40 cents to $1,462.70 an ounce.

June palladium added 1.1 percent to $839.85 an ounce. September palladium, which is now the most-active contract, also ticked up 1.1 percent to $840.75 an ounce.

High-grade copper for July delivery closed less than half a cent lower at $3.17 a pound.

In energy markets, oil futures finished lower today, below the $103-a-barrel mark for the first time in more than a week. Prices fell ahead of weekly data that are expected to show an increase in U.S. crude inventories.

July crude fell 1.3 percent to finish at $102.72 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the lowest close for a most-active contract since May 20.

U.S. crude inventories may have increased 500,000 barrels to near the highest level for this time of year, according to a Bloomberg survey of 10 analysts before a government report tomorrow.