June 1, 2003	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1424

LONDON, May 31: Gold prices slipped back from recent three-month high points this week after the weary dollar showed signs of stabilising.

Oil prices ended little changed, propped up by stronger demand for gasoline after the start of the “summer driving season” in the United States, with the prospect of production cuts by the Opec cartel also lending support.

GOLD: Gold prices lost some of their shine after the dollar fought back and US share prices climbed on hopes that the US economy is on the mend.

By Friday afternoon, gold stood at $361.40 per ounce on the London Bullion Market from $370.70 the previous week.

The rejuvenation of the dollar and the improvement in equities have worked against gold as funds have taken profits and some technical selling has also been in evidence, said Rhona O’Connell, analyst at the World Gold Council.

Gold prices tend to move in the opposite direction to the dollar because a weaker US currency makes the precious metal more attractive to buyers in Europe and Asia.

SILVER: Silver prices slid lower in tandem with gold, with investment fund selling and poor industrial demand weighing on the metal, analysts said.

Silver was trading on the London Bullion Market at $4.560 an ounce on Friday against $4.674 the previous week.

PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM: Platinum prices slipped on fund-selling and supply concerns, with palladium also heading south, analysts said.

On Friday, the price of an ounce of platinum stood at $642 from 669 dollars the week before.

Heavy selling hit prices on Thursday, initially triggered by traders in Tokyo taking advantage of moves in the dollar against the yen, noted Moore.

Palladium prices traded at $183 against $185 the previous week.

BASE METALS: Base metal prices moved higher early in the week on renewed investment fund interest and dollar weakness.

But prices took a step back after a report on US durable goods orders suggested that the manufacturing sector continues to struggle.

Ingrid Sternby, analyst at investment bank Barclays Capital, noted that copper had topped $1,700 per ounce briefly on fund buying.

Copper, where speculative involvement is larger than for other base metals, was also supported by the weakness of the dollar.

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), three-month copper prices edged up to $1,693 per ton on Friday from $1,692.5 the previous week.

Three-month aluminium prices slipped to $1,402 per ton from $1,411.

Three-month nickel prices increased to $8,920 per ton from $8,620.

Three-month tin prices firmed to $4,785 per ton from $4,755.

Three-month lead prices rose to $467 per ton from $464.

Three-month zinc prices sagged to $782 per ton from $797.

OIL: Oil prices ended the week little changed, having rebounded towards the weekend on increased demand for gasoline in the United States and by the prospect of an output cut by the Opec cartel at its June 11, meeting in Qatar.

The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for July delivery traded at $26.14 a barrel in late London trading on Friday from $26.34 a week earlier.

In New York, reference July-dated light sweet crude futures stood at $29.13 per barrel from $29.30 the previous week. Traders were slightly perturbed by weekly stock figures from the US government showing a fall in gasoline stocks of 3.4 million barrels in the week to May 23 to 205 million barrels.

The unexpected fall eclipsed news of an increase in crude oil inventories of 1.1 million barrels to 286.2 million barrels in the week.

The market was also looking ahead to the next meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec), whose President Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah indicated this week a reduction in production was likely.

RUBBER: Supply worries continued to bolster rubber prices.

The market is very volatile and active, people are very nervous this year compared to last year, said Chris Caiger, an analyst with brokers Symington.

COCOA: Cocoa prices remained under pressure, falling to the lowest level for 11 months in New York and for one and a half years in London.

Fundamentally, elimination of an expected supply deficit and better-than-expected Ivory Coast main and mid-crops are weighing on the market, she added.

COFFEE: Coffee prices were pummelled by speculative selling, with still no sign of the frosts in major producer Brazil that the market had previously feared.

On LIFFE, Robusta quality for July delivery tumbled to $705 per ton, against $746 the previous week.

On New York’s CSCE market, Arabica for July delivery dropped to 59.30 cents a pound from 66.35 cents the previous week.

SUGAR: Sugar prices retreated on speculative selling, with little physical activity going on, traders said.

The latest figures from the US agriculture department forecast global sugar production of 138.6 million tons in the 2003/04 season, 4.6 million lower than the previous season and roughly in line with consumption.

On LIFFE, a ton of white sugar for August delivery dropped to $203.2 from 207.7 a week earlier.

On the CSCE in New York, a pound of unrefined sugar for July delivery eased to 6.97 cents from 7.25 the previous week.

SOYA: Soya prices rose on worries about dry meteorological conditions in US producer regions, traders said.

On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBoT), a bushel of soya for July delivery gained to 630.0 cents from 626.75 the previous week.

Soyabean meal used in animal feed for July delivery climbed to $192.10 per ton from 190.50 the previous week.

GRAINS: US wheat prices dipped as producers harvested crops, while maize prices rode higher on concerns about parched conditions in the United States.

In Chicago, a bushel of wheat for July delivery fell to 324 cents from 325.5 cents the week before.

A bushel of maize in Chicago for July delivery firmed to 245 cents from 243.75 cents a week before.

On LIFFE, the price of a ton of wheat for July delivery eased to 74.10 pounds from 78.75 pounds a week earlier.

COTTON: Cotton prices recoiled on speculative selling in response to signs of weak demand, and on favourable rains in US producer areas.

Fundamentally, the market’s bullish bias has been undercut by developing bearish sentiment as speculators build a net short position, said Prendergast.

The move lower was also in response to beneficial rains in Texas erasing bad weather fears or any crop concern.

In New York, the July contract fell back to 51.18 cents a pound from 53.50 the previous week.

The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton, the average of the world’s lowest prices, dipped to 57.70 cents from 57.80 cents the week before.

WOOL: Wool prices in Australia, the world’s biggest producer, rebounded amid signs of a return by Chinese buyers, who have been kept away from the market by the recent outbreak of the SARS virus.

Topmakers were dominant this week, with support from some European based clients, the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat (AWIS) said in a weekly market review. —AFP