Commodities are heading lower early Friday, with gold and crude oil both sliding as concerns over European sovereign debt and ongoing tension in the Korean peninsula sent traders to the relative safety of U.S. dollars, driving down prices for basic goods. Gold, in particular, is weaker, sliding about $15 since Wednesday's settlement to slide under $1360 an ounce for the first time in a week. The selloff accelerated since trading started overnight in the European markets as the dollar strengthened against the Euro, with dollars and gold nearly matching the other moving in opposite directions. Oil has been drifting lower since about 12 a.m. ET, falling about $1 to $82.97 a barrel at the NYMEX although that is still more than a $1 higher than Wednesday's settlement price at $81.68 following a jump to $84.53 a barrel in electronic trading late Wednesday. Brent crude also is lower at $85.13 in London trading but has been edging higher over the past hour or so, climbing about $0.30. Copper and other metals also are lower, helping drive down prices for diversified miners this morning. BHP Billiton ( BHP ), the world's largest mining company is down about 2% while No. 3 Rio Tinto ( RIO ) is off 1.5%. Gold companies are holding up slightly better, with most falling only fractionally in sporatic U.S. pre-trade although AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. ( AU ) is down 2.3% to $46.97, losing $1.08 a share. Corn and soybeans were down about 1% in early agricultural commodities trade, with nearby wheat contracts also lower at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

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