LONDON: Oil prices hit fresh multi-month low points this week, with no sign of an end to a global supply glut.

Metals, including gold and copper, stabilised after a recent rout fuelled by cracks in the Chinese economy.

OIL: Brent crude hit $52.28 a barrel on Tuesday, the lowest level since Feb 2.

The same day, New York’s main contract dropped to $46.68 a barrel, the lowest point since March 24.

By Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in September slid to $52.69 a barrel from $54.42 a week earlier.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September fell to $47.66 a barrel from $48.01.

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold rose slightly but stayed pressured after slumping to more than five-year lows the previous week.

By Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold rose to $1,098.40 an ounce from $1,080.80 a week earlier. Silver climbed to $14.56 an ounce from $14.49.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum was unchanged at $979 an ounce. Palladium fell to $610 an ounce from $616.

BASE METALS: Prices mostly stablised week-on-week, but remained held back by a strong dollar and concerns over the Chinese economy, with copper hitting a fresh six-year low at $1,631 a tonne.

The Fed on Wednesday said the US economy had expanded “moderately” in recent months and the jobs market strengthened, .

By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months slipped to $5,218.50 a tonne from $5,245 a week earlier.

Three-month aluminium decreased to $1,631.50 a tonne from $1,636.50. Three-month lead fell to $1,703.50 a tonne from $1,714.50 Three-month tin surged to $16,105 a tonne from $14,910. Three-month nickel retreated to $10,940 a tonne from $11,250. Three-month zinc dipped to $1,942 a tonne from $1,958.50.

COCOA: By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, cocoa for delivery in December edged up to 2,154 pounds a tonne compared with 2,140 pounds for the September contract a week earlier.

On the ICE Futures US exchange, cocoa for September increased to $3,237 a tonne from $3,197 the previous week.

SUGAR: Prices recovered, helped by “robust global demand and dryness in Thailand and India” according to Commerzbank.

By Friday on LIFFE, a tonne of white sugar for delivery in October gained to $354 from $348.30 one week earlier. On ICE Futures US, unrefined sugar for October dipped to 11.32 US cents from 11.38 cents.

COFFEE: Prices rose over the week as traders tracked movements in the currency of Brazil, the world’s main coffee producer.

By Friday on LIFFE, Robusta for September edged up to $1,667 a tonne from $1,651 one week earlier. On ICE Futures US, Arabica for delivery in September gained to 127.45 US cents a pound from 121.10 cents.

Published in Dawn, August 2nd, 2015

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