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LONDON, July 5: A strike in Nigeria that threatened to disrupt the country’s oil exports while Iraqi crude is also still off the market drove oil prices higher this week.
Gold was also in demand as dips in the value of the dollar lured buyers in Europe and Asia.
But trading in many commodities was muted towards the end of the week, with markets in the United States closed on Friday for Independence Day celebrations.
GOLD: Gold prices rebounded slightly as weakness in the value of the dollar offset concerns about the impact of rising US unemployment on jewellery demand.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of an ounce of gold stood at 351.30 dollars on Friday afternoon, against 345.50 dollars the previous week.
As always, the gold price has been driven by the US dollar, said Ross Norman, analyst at TheBullionDesk.com website.
The dollar weakened on disappointing US economic data this week that paint a fairly moribund picture of the US economy, he added.
A weaker US currency tends to make the precious metal, traded in dollars on world markets, more attractive to buyers in Europe and Asia.
But figures showing the US unemployment rate shot up unexpectedly to a nine-year high of 6.4 per cent in June did not augur well for demand for gold jewellery in the United States, analysts said.
SILVER: Silver prices swung higher on the tail of gold.
Silver was trading on the London Bullion Market at $4.655 an ounce on Friday against $4.525 the previous week.
PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM: The platinum group metals (PGMs) gained after figures showed a rise in US auto sales and the market warmed to a takeover of US producer Stillwater Mining by Russian giant Norilsk Nickel.
By Friday afternoon, the spot price of an ounce of platinum had risen to $674 on the London Platinum and Palladium Market from $666.5 the week before.
Palladium stood at $185 an ounce against $177 the previous week.
BASE METALS: Base metals prices wobbled after the latest US economic data failed to live up to expectations, though some managed to end the week higher.
It’s been a soft performance for most of the metals, said Macquarie Bank analyst Adam Rowley.
The main reason was the weaker economic data that came out at the start of the week, especially the purchasing managers indexes in Europe and in the US, both of which were well below expectations and provided little hope that we were going to see an early recovery in growth and therefore demand.
Three-month aluminium prices gained to $1,372 per ton from 1,369.
Three-month nickel prices dipped to $8,370 per ton from 8,400. Three-month zinc prices climbed to $815 per ton from 798.
Three-month lead prices firmed to $485 per ton from 469.
Three-month tin prices advanced to $4,715 per ton from 4,640.
OIL: Oil prices pushed higher through another volatile week dominated by unrest in Nigeria, an unexpected fall in crude stocks and a tropical storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
The price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for August delivery traded at $27.67 a barrel in late London deals on Friday from $27.14 a week earlier.
In New York, the light sweet crude August contract closed on Thursday at $30.42 per barrel from $29.07 the previous Friday.
Nigeria’s unions were considering a government offer on fuel prices that could end a five-day-old general strike and remove a threat to halt the country’s oil production.
US crude oil stock levels meanwhile fell by 2.1 million barrels, or 0.7 per cent, to 282.1 million in the week that ended June 27 from the previous week, the US Department of Energy said in its weekly petroleum report.
RUBBER: Rubber prices remained under pressure amid concern about rising supply.
The price eased as the supply is improving and we haven’t seen that much increasing demand or consumer interest around, said Chris Caiger from brokers Symington.
In Kuala Lumpur, the RSS 1 index eased to 3.640 ringgit per kilo on Thursday from 3.725 ringgit the previous week.
COCOA: Cocoa prices gained on worries that the crop in war-torn Ivory Coast, the world’s biggest producer, may be smaller than previously expected.
Concern about a potential lowering of the 2003/04 crop size combined with worries that smaller beans in Indonesia would nip the harvest there has encouraged the buying, said Refco analyst Ann Prendergast.
COFFEE: Coffee prices bubbled up on concerns that adverse weather may damage crops in leading producer Brazil.
Funds are heavily short leaving the market vulnerable as dry weather and extended cold in the Brazil coffee-growing regions impose the possibility of damage to the 2004/05 crop, said Prendergast.
SUGAR: Sugar prices ticked higher, largely on the back of technical trading ahead of the expiry of the July contract next week, traders said.
SOYA: Soya prices retreated in response to figures from the US Department of Agriculture which revealed bigger-than-expected stocks of the commodity, traders said.
Favourable weather forecasts for US producer regions added to the pressure on prices.
GRAINS: Wheat prices rose on weaker-than-expected planting activity, while maize prices eased back in step with soya.
In Chicago, a bushel of wheat for July delivery firmed to 303.25 cents on Thursday from 298.50 cents the week before.
COTTON: Cotton prices forged higher on worries about US planting intentions and the impact of a tropical storm on crops in Texas, analysts said.
A supportive acreage report and threat of poor weather due to a tropical storm helped push cotton futures near 60 cents on Monday, said Refco’s Prendergast.
By Thursday, New York’s October contract stood at 58.40 cents a pound against 57.50 the previous week.
The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton, the average of the world’s lowest prices, bounced up to 60.65 cents from 59.25 cents the week before.
WOOL: Wool prices continued their downtrend in leading producer Australia, dropping 3.3 per cent on average at auctions. As expected by the trade, Tuesday’s market in the north was softer following the weakness seen at last week’s sales, the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat said in its weekly review.—AFP
