Metals and other commodities are closing lower Thursday, mimicking the stock market's tumble.
Silver is down 5.5 percent and gold is down more than 3 percent on a day when the Dow Jones industrial average is off more than 200 points in late trading. Sometimes investors pile into precious metals when they are nervous about the economy, but it appeared that some were selling gold and silver to cover shortfalls in other portfolios.
Oil is down to its lowest level since October, and prices for industrial metals such as copper, palladium and platinum are also down.
Prices for wheat, corn and soybeans are lower. They climbed earlier this week as investors worried that hot, dry weather would shrink crop supplies.
