December 17, 2006	Sunday	Ziqa'ad 25, 1427

LONDON, Dec 16: World oil prices ended the week mixed after gaining from Opec's decision to cut output further and a sharp drop in US energy stockpiles.

Precious metals, including gold and silver, weakened as the dollar rallied.

However there were gains for some base metals, with the price of nickel striking an all-time high. A number of soft commodities benefited from speculative buying.

The Commodities Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities declined to 314.23 points on Friday at about 1615 GMT, from 314.63 points a week earlier.

GOLD: Gold prices fell further this week as the dollar extended its recovery.

The lack of fresh dollar weakness is putting the brakes on the metal's rally, aid James Moore, an analyst for specialist website TheBullionDesk.com.

A stronger US currency makes dollar-denominated products more expensive for buyers using other currencies, reducing demand.

On the London Bullion Market, gold prices dropped to $623.75 per ounce at Friday's late fixing, from $637.40 one week earlier.

SILVER: Silver prices declined.

Silver was featureless and simply followed gold,” UBS analyst Jon Reade said.

“We continue to expect little excitement from precious metals into he end of the year although intraday volatility is likely to continue.”Silver prices had struck a near eight-month high of 14.18 per ounce at the start of December.

On the London Bullion Market, silver prices slid to $13.73 per ounce at Friday's fixing, from $13.84 the previous week.

PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM: Palladium and platinum fell owing to the strength.

Palladium looks positive from the technical view point, but remains dogged by its unfavourable fundamentals, Moore said.

As for platinum, it looks well supported at the $1,100 level, he added.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum declined to $1,108 per ounce at the late fixing Friday, from $1,117 the previous week.

Palladium retreated to $326 per ounce on Friday from $329.50 one week earlier.

BASE METALS: Nickel hit a record high point of $34,950 per ton on Friday, while on Monday tin struck a 17-year peak of $11,250 per ton.

Base metals have soared this year on a combination of strong demand by investment funds amid robust economic growth in China, as well as output disruptions.

On Friday, three-month copper prices fell to $6,796 per ton on the London Metal Exchange from $6,846 the previous week.

Three-month aluminium prices climbed to $2,857 per ton from $2,815.

Three-month nickel prices jumped to $34,600 per ton from $33,955.

Three-month lead prices decreased to $1,661 per ton from $1,731.50.

Three-month zinc prices gained to $4,366 per ton from 4,270.

Three-month tin prices edged up to $10,980 per ton from $10,975 a week earlier.

OIL: Oil prices won support after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Thursday it would slash output by 500,000 barrels per day from February, but were down over the week in New York on profit-taking.

Opec ministers, meeting in Nigeria, announced a production cut of 500,000 barrels per day from February 1 next year, and also welcomed new member Angola, the second-biggest oil producer in sub-Saharan Africa.

In October, Opec had decided to cut its output by 1.2 million bpd from the beginning of November, meaning the total reduction called for by the group is 1.7 million barrels.

Investec oil analyst Bruce Evers played down the impact of the latest cut.

A February decision will take oil off the market by mid-March, which is adequate timing, he said, explaining that demand for heating fuel would begin to fall in March.

Dealers said prices were supported also by news that US energy inventories had fallen across the board last week.

At about 1530 GMT on Friday in New York, a barrel of crude for delivery in January fell to $62.65 per barrel from $63.55 the previous week.

In London, a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February rose to $63.04 per barrel, from $62.20.

RUBBER: Rubber prices fell on profit-taking in Tokyo after surging a week earlier.

They had previously gained after key producer Thailand threatened to intervene in the market to support prices.

On TOCOM, Tokyo's commodity exchange, natural rubber for May delivery fell to 210.90 yen per kilogramme on Friday, from 212.20 yen a week earlier.

Singapore's RSS 3 April contract climbed to 178.25 US cents per kilogramme on Friday, from 175.75 US cents a week earlier.

COCOA: Cocoa prices extended gains on forecasts of lower exports from leading producer Ivory Coast.

On Thursday, the price of a ton of cocoa reached above 900 dollars per ton — the highest point for five months.

Exports of semi-finished cocoa from Ivory Coast was estimated at 54,384 tons for October and November this year, a little bit lower than during the same period in 2005, Sucden analyst Michael Davies said.

On the LIFFE, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for March delivery increased to 909 pounds per ton at 1530 GMT on Friday, from 884 pounds a week earlier.

On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the March contract gained to $1,657 per ton on Friday, from $1,635 the previous week.

COFFEE: Coffee prices edged ahead in London on buying by speculative funds.

There is a substantial level of demand” for Robusta coffee, Davies said.

However supply is looking healthy as well with a large Vietnam harvest in full flow. On LIFFE, Robusta quality for January delivery climbed to 1,494 dollars per ton on Friday, from 1,452 dollars a week earlier.

On NYBOT, Arabica for March delivery fell to 125.75 cents per pound on Friday, from 126.25 cents the previous week.

SUGAR: Sugar prices dropped further, owing to fears of a supply surplus.

The supply situation is not supportive for prices, “with growing planting more cane following the sugar (price) rally when the market soared to a 25-year high in early February this year”, Davies said.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a ton of white sugar for March delivery decreased to $340.20 at about 1540 GMT, compared with 352.50 dollars a week earlier.

On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for March delivery slid to 11.23 US cents per pound, from 11.40 US cents the previous week.

GRAINS AND SOYA: Grains and soya prices mainly declined in quiet trading.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, the price of wheat for March delivery fell to US$4.88 per bushel on Friday, from $4.95 the previous week.

Maize for March delivery dropped to $370 per bushel on Friday, from $3.72 the previous week.

January-dated soyabean meal -- used in animal feed -- eased to 6.58 dollars on Friday, from 6.77 dollars the previous week.

On the LIFFE, the price of a ton of wheat for January delivery rose to 93.50 pounds on Friday, from 93.25 pounds.

COTTON: Cotton prices rebounded in New York, where they gained almost two US cents on Monday owing to speculative buying.

Certain operators expect a return of Chinese demand in the New Year, Fimat analyst Philippe Pesque said.

On the NYBOT, the March contract jumped to 55.25 US cents per pound on Friday, from 52.90 US cents the previous week.

The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton advanced to 59.45 US cents on Thursday, from 58.45 cents a week earlier.

WOOL: Wool prices rose owing to strong global demand.

Buyers for China continue to dominate the market, but improved demand from other countries has been a major factor in lifting the market, the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat said.

The Eastern index rallied to 8.39 Australian dollars per kilo on Thursday, from $8.25 the previous week.

The British Wooltops index stood at 440 pence on Thursday, unchanged from the previous week.—AFP