Commodities : Monday, June 8, 1987 : Silver Futures Fall Sharply

Silver futures fell sharply Monday after investors shook off worries about the Persian Gulf, and the plunge pulled soybean and grain prices lower.

On other markets, oil futures rallied, pork bellies were sharply lower and livestock prices were mixed.

Silver gained about 30 cents an ounce on the Commodity Exchange in New York before sliding to finish the day down 20 cents from Friday’s close.

“Precious metals showed some strength on the opening due to nervousness in the Persian Gulf,” said Peter Cardillo, commodity futures trading advisor in New York with Josephthal & Co.

Weekend news of American warnings of military intervention in the Persian Gulf encouraged some investors to put their money in a safe haven, he said. “But when the market digested the news and nothing further developed, it had a reversal.”

He said prices were unaffected by the economic summit in Venice and were not likely to be because the market did not expect any concrete measures to come out of the meeting.

“Metals will probably trade off news from the Gulf for a while,” said Cardillo.