Commodities Hold Steady

Commodities were little changed Wednesday as traders awaited the outcome of the two-day Federal Reserve meeting.

May oil futures were up 20 cents at $59.45 a barrel at the New York Mercantile Exchange, and natural gas was rising 14 cents to $7.05 per million British thermal units.

Heating oil slipped 1 cent to $1.66 a gallon, and gasoline was lower by 1 cent at $1.93 a gallon.

Gold was stronger by 80 cents to $659.80 an ounce, but silver was weaker by 4 cents at $13.33 an ounce. Platinum tacked on $2 to $1,232 an ounce, and copper lost 1 cent to $3.02 a pound.

At the New York Board of Trade, cocoa and coffee climbed, but cotton and frozen concentrated orange juice futures were declining.

The Reuters Jefferies CRB Index was up 1.11 to 306.07.