RIYADH: Gold traded flat on Thursday but prices were set for a second consecutive weekly gain as the Ukraine crisis and broadening inflationary pressures lifted the safe-haven metal’s appeal. Spot gold was little changed at $1,974.28 per ounce, as of 0426 GMT. US gold futures were down 0.4 percent at $1,977.60. The metal has gained about 1.4 percent so far in the week. Most markets will be closed on Friday for a holiday. Palladium rises On Thursday, palladium rose 2.3 percent to $2,368.85. Spot silver was flat at $25.73 per ounce, while platinum was unchanged at $986.27. Grains firm US wheat and corn futures rose further in early Asian trading on Thursday, on worries over global supplies as the Russia-Ukraine war continued. The most-active wheat contract on the Chicago Board of Trade was up 0.6 percent at $11.28 a bushel. CBOT corn edged up 0.32 percent to $7.8-1/2 a bushel. CBOT soybeans rose 0.67 percent to $16.87-1/4 a bushel. Copper firms on tight supply Copper prices rose on Thursday on expectations that top metals consumer China’s COVID-19 battle will have minimal impact on demand, while zinc succumbed to profit-taking, although losses were limited amid persistent worries over tight supply. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.5 percent to $10,353.50 a ton, as of 0409 GMT, keeping it on track for a weekly gain. The most-active May copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange ended the morning trade 0.4 percent higher at $11,655.12 a ton. Zinc down London zinc was down 0.6 percent at $4,437 a ton, after hitting a five-week high in the previous session underpinned by supply worries as inventories shrank and smelters in Europe struggled amid a spike in energy costs. Shanghai zinc slipped 0.4 percent, after climbing to its highest in nearly 15 years on Wednesday. LME aluminum rose 0.4 percent to $3,250 a ton, lead slipped 0.2 percent to $2,427.50, while tin gained 0.2 percent to $43,390. Shanghai aluminum climbed 1.6 percent, nickel rose 1.1 percent, lead shed 0.2 percent, and tin jumped 2.1 percent. (With inputs from Reuters)