LONDON, Oct 6: Commoity markets traded mixed this week as investors balanced stubborn worries over the global demand outlook against easing eurozone debt crisis concerns and the faltering dollar.

Investors shrugged off strong non-farm payrolls (NFP) data in the US, which is a major consumer of raw materials.

“Growth concerns remain the major concern and on average US jobs report cannot change the fact that demand looks weak,” said CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson.

The NFP report also dented expectations for fresh quantitative easing (QE) stimulus cash from the US Federal Reserve, dealers said. Huge revisions to previous months’ data released on Friday gave a sharply better picture of the US jobs situation, helping push the unemployment rate down to 7.8 per cent from the previous 8.1 per cent.

The Labour Department’s fresh numbers for September showed only 114,000 jobs were generated last month, but revisions to July and August data showing many more jobs were produced and fewer people dropped out of the workforce.

“The reason for the drop in commodities (on Friday) is what this means for further asset purchases by the Fed,” said Alpari analyst Craig Erlam.

Oil: The market had spiked higher on Thursday, with WTI soaring more than $4 as traders also fretted over clashes on the Syria-Turkey border and a fire at a major US refinery, analysts said.

By late on Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November firmed to $111.80 a barrel from $111.77 a week earlier. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for November eased to $90.31 a barrel, from $91.78 a week earlier.

Precious metals: Gold surged close to a one-year high this week, boosted by the weak dollar, but trimmed gains on Friday. The euro rallied above $1.30 this week after the ECB president Mario Draghi reassured dealers over its bond-buying scheme, soothing concerns over the eurozone debt crisis. The unit extended those gains after the NFP data.

The falling greenback makes dollar-denominated assets cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies. This tends to stimulate demand and support higher prices. The glamorous metal spiked on Thursday to $1,796.10 — last witnessed on November 14, 2011. Silver meanwhile reached the highest level since early March, and platinum scored highs last seen in February.

By late on Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rose to $1,784 an ounce from $1,776 a week earlier.

Silver firmed to $34.85 an ounce from $34.65.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum increased to $1,711 an ounce from $1,668. Palladium climbed to $667 an ounce from $642.

Base metals: Base or industrial metals diverged as traders eyed worries over the economic slowdown in key consumer China.

China’s non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) Index released on Wednesday fell from 56.3 in August to 53.7 in September — its lowest point since November 2010. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while anything below points to contraction.

The figure comes after China said on Monday that activity in the vital manufacturing sector came in at 49.8 in September, a slight increase from August but still showing shrinkage. Chinese economic growth slowed to 7.6 per cent in the three months through June from the same period the year before, the weakest in three years.

By late on Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months increased to $8,321 a ton from $8,250 a week earlier.

Three-month aluminium fell to $2,114 a ton from $2,123.

Three-month lead dropped to $2,275 a ton from $2,300.

Three-month tin rose to $22,525 a ton from $21,700.

Three-month nickel grew to $18,654 a ton from $18,576.

Three-month zinc sank to $2,065 a ton from $2,120.

Cocoa: Prices fell as dealers eyed the improving supply outlook in top global producer Ivory Coast.

By Friday on LIFFE: London’s futures exchange, cocoa for delivery in December slid to £1,533 a ton from £1,635 a week earlier.

On New York’s NYBOT-ICE exchange, cocoa for December sank to $2,406 a ton from $2,543.

Sugar: Sugar futures hit their highest levels since the start of August, as speculative buyers ploughed into the market.

By Friday on NYBOT-ICE, the price of unrefined sugar for March stood at 21.37 US cents a pound compared with 20.40 cents.

On LIFFE, the price of a ton of white sugar for delivery in December climbed to $595.70 from $574.90 a week earlier.

Coffee: The coffee market drifted lower. By Friday on NYBOT-ICE, Arabica for delivery in December decreased to 173.90 US cents a pound from 174.35 cents a week earlier.

On LIFFE, Robusta for November declined to $2,140 a ton from $2,175.

Rubber: Prices rose on supply concerns as rubber stockpiles reportedly fell and major producing countries moved to limit their exports, dealers said.

The Malaysian Rubber Board’s benchmark SMR20 advanced to 307.35 US cents a kilo from 285.75 cents the previous week. —AFP