Metals lead gains for commodities as dollar slumps

Palladium for December delivery led the gains, rising $16.30, or 2.5 percent, to $667.60 an ounce. December silver gained 76.60 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $34.116 an ounce, and December gold gained $23.20, or 1.3 percent, to $1,751.40 an ounce.

Commodities are typically priced in dollars, and when the dollar's value falls, producers demand more dollars in exchange for their commodities. The dollar fell 0.9 percent against a basket of currencies, its biggest decline in more than two months.

"Commodities are being helped by the weaker dollar," said Art Liming, a futures specialist at Citibank. The gains are "just a mirror of what's going on in the dollar."

The price of oil climbed Friday after Israeli troops fired on crowds in Gaza surging toward a border fence, killing one Palestinian and wounding 19. Benchmark crude finished up 90 cents at $88.28 per barrel in New York.

Heating oil gained 0.5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $3.0771. Natural gas futures fell 0.2 cents to $3.9010.