Gold inched lower on Thursday but prices were set for their biggest quarterly gain since September 2020, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict lifted demand for the safe-haven metal. Spot gold was down 0.3 percent at $1,926.46 per ounce by 0245 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,931.00. Russia to ban sunflower seed exports Russia will ban exports of sunflower seeds starting on Friday and impose an export quota of 1.5 million tons of sunflower oil between April 15 and Aug. 31, the Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday. The country has already taken steps to safeguard its food market in light of western sanctions. Copper dips London copper was set for a second straight quarterly gain on Thursday, even as prices dipped for the day on concerns over demand in top consumer China, which is grappling with its worst resurgence of Covid cases since early 2020. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange dropped 0.4 percent to $10,325 a ton by 0421 GMT, after a 0.5 percent rise in the previous session partly driven by a weak US dollar. The most-traded May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the morning trade 0.4 percent lower at $11,561.24 a ton. Grains flat Chicago grains were largely flat on Thursday, as cautious traders assessed the impact of the recent peace talks between Ukraine and Russia, both leading exporters of grains, and awaited the US plantings report. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade inched up 0.46 percent to $10.28-1/2 a bushel. Chicago corn fell 0.1 percent to $7.37 a bushel while soybeans fell 0.56 percent to $16.54-3/4 a bushel. Tesla signs secret nickel supply deal Tesla Inc. has signed an undisclosed deal with Brazilian mining company Vale S.A. for the supply of nickel to the electric car maker, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing sources. The price of nickel, which is essential to making batteries for electric vehicles, had been rising steadily even before the conflict in Ukraine drove it up even further and triggered chaos at the London Metal Exchange in early March. Prices of other metals used in cars, including aluminum, palladium, and lithium, have also soared recently. Tesla, the world’s largest automaker, signed the multi-year supply deal with Vale for nickel from Canada, Bloomberg reported. (With inputs from Reuters)