LONDON, July 5: The price of oil set a record high above $146 a barrel this week owing to falling reserves of US crude, simmering tensions over Iran and a weak dollar, traders said.

OIL: Brent North Sea oil for August delivery surged to a life-time peak of $146.69 a barrel on Thursday, before cooling as traders banked their profits.

New York’s main oil contract, light sweet crude for August delivery, leapt to an all-time pinnacle of $145.85 the same day.

Prices rose to set new all-time highs ... supported by a decline in US crude oil inventories, said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.

Oil prices, which have doubled in value over the past year, were driven by news that American crude stockpiles fell by 2.0 million barrels to stand at 299.8 million barrels in the week to June 27.

The US government’s Energy Information Administration had also revealed on Wednesday that crude inventories were 15.3 per cent lower than at the same stage one year ago.

It was the first time inventory fell below the psychologically critical 300-million-barrel threshold since January, said PetroMatrix analyst Olivier Jakob.

Iran has been locked in a five-year standoff with the West over its nuclear programme. Iran claims it is for generating electricity while Western powers fear the development of nuclear weapons.

The oil market also found key support from the struggling US currency, which makes dollar-priced commodities cheaper for foreign buyers and tends to encourage demand, analysts said.

By Friday, Brent North Sea crude for August jumped to $144.86 a barrel from $140.81 a week earlier.

New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for August climbed to $144.10 a barrel, from $140.85.

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold, seen as a haven in times of economic troubles, reached $946.40 a ton, the highest level since April.

You’ve got inflation, geopolitical risk, extremely high oil prices and a weak economy. All the pieces of the puzzle are there for gold to go higher said Matt Zeman, a metals trader at LaSalle Futures Group.

On the London Bullion Market, gold advanced to $931.25 per ounce at Friday’s late fixing from$ 919.50 a week earlier.

Silver grew to $18.01 per ounce from $17.40.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum dropped to $2,012 per ounce at the late fixing on Friday from$ 2,053 a week earlier.

Palladium slid to $456 per ounce from $467.

BASE METALS: Copper prices soared to historic heights, boosted by a weak US currency and strike action by miners in Chile and Peru, traders said.

On the London Metal Exchange (LME), copper for delivery in three months hit 8,940 dollars a tonne, beating the previous high of 8,880 reached in April.

The move in copper was in reaction to a weaker dollar ... and concerns about the impact of strike action in Chile, said UBS analyst John Reade.

The Latin American nation is the world’s biggest producer of copper, which is used for electrical wiring and plumbing.

Copper futures also benefited from a weak dollar, which makes the base metal cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies.

There were also strikes in Peru this week, affecting production of copper, zinc, lead and tin.

By Friday, copper for delivery in three months surged to 8,645 dollars per tonne on the London Metal Exchange from 8,493 dollars a week earlier.

Three-month aluminium jumped to$3,184 per tonne from $3,086.

Three-month lead fell to $1,610 dollarsper tonne from $1,819.

Three-month zinc dropped to $1,785 per ton from $1,946 .

Three-month tin declined to $22,850 per tonne from $23,300.

Three-month nickel retreated to $20,850 per tonne from $21,860.

COCOA: Cocoa prices reached $3,290 a tone in New York, the highest point since March 1980, before falling on profit-taking.

In London, prices reached a 22-year peak of 1,748 pounds a tonne.

Cocoa futures are rising on concerns over tight supplies in leading producer Ivory Coast.

By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price of cocoa for September delivery dropped to 1,609 pounds per tonne from 1,695 pounds a week earlier.

On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the September cocoa contract fell to$ 3,136 per ton from $3,182.

COFFEE: Coffee prices extended gains in London on concerns about dry weather in Brazil which hampers output.

By Friday on LIFFE, Robusta for September delivery rose to $2,480 per ton from$ 2,420 a week earlier.

On the NYBOT, Arabica for September delivery slid to 151.90 US cents per pound from 152.20 cents.

SUGAR: Sugar prices reached the highest levels since March as oil prices surged.

The raw material is used in the production of ethanol, which is a cheaper alternative to motor fuel.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price per tonne of white sugar for October delivery rallied to 393 pounds from 377.80 pounds the previous week.

On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for October delivery increased to 13.91 US cents per pound from 13.10 cents.

RUBBER: Malaysian rubber prices extended gains.

Rubber prices moved upwards in tandem with surging oil prices, said a dealer who requested anonymity.

Crude oil is used to make synthetic rubber.

On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s benchmark SMR20 rose to 325.50 US cents per kilogramme from 319.40 cents a week earlier.

WOOL: The wool market closed 0.5 per cent lower on average this week in major producer Australia.

Buyers for China were dominant, with strong support from buyers for Europe and India, said the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat.---AFP