Commodities : Thursday, Sept. 10, 1987 : Precious Metals Futures Advance

Silver futures prices swung sharply higher and took gold along for the ride as the Persian Gulf War sparked worries about the U.S. economy.

The silver rally on the New York Commodity Exchange was one of the strongest in recent months, analysts said.

On other markets, rumors and reports about the Iran-Iraq conflict sent oil futures up slightly, livestock and meat futures tumbled, and grains and soybeans advanced.

Silver futures rose as high as $8.585 an ounce for July delivery, and settled 52 cents higher for the September delivery contract.

The rally suggested that the silver futures market is at last responding to events in the gulf, said Peter Cardillo, an analyst with Josephthal & Co. in New York.

But another metals analyst, Bill O’Neill of Elders Futures Inc. in New York, downplayed the importance of the silver rally.

“We’ve seen patterns like this in the past,” O’Neill said. “Silver is more volatile than gold and makes bigger swings, so I would say it’s not all that unusual.”

Gold settled $6.10 to $6.80 higher with the contract for delivery in September at $463.10 an ounce; silver was 51.1 cents to 53.6 cents higher with September at $8.040.