LONDON, Jan 13: World oil prices tumbled for a second week in a row, falling below $52 a barrel to reach the lowest points for 19 months, as demand for heating fuel fell amid the northern hemisphere's warm winter.

Wool was a rare winner -- its price surging almost 10 per cent in main producer Australia.

The Commodities Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities fell to 288.66 points on Friday at about 1600 GMT, from 291.57 points a week ago. Earlier Friday, it fell as low as 285.38 points -- last seen in February 2005.

GOLD: Gold prices climbed, despite further strengthening of the dollar and another heavy drop for oil futures -- factors which normally drag the metal lower.

The previous week, gold prices had tumbled to a two-month low of $602.45 an ounce.

On the London Bullion Market, gold prices gained to $619.75 per ounce at Friday's late fixing, from $609.50 the previous Friday.

SILVER: Silver prices fell, but avoided a new two-month low.

The industrial precious metal looks set to spend more time consolidating, Moore said.

The previous week, a softer dollar had pushed silver to $12.16 per ounce -- the lowest point since October 31, 2006.

On the London Bullion Market, silver prices slid to $12.43 per ounce at Friday's late fixing, from $12.70 the previous week.

PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM: Platinum prices rose, while palladium slumped.

Looking ahead, Barclays Capital analysts noted that the sister metals could benefit from expectations of increased Chinese demand for catalytic converters as China looks to reduce car pollution.

The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers has predicted that the demand for Chinese vehicles will rise to eight million in 2007.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum increased to $1,137 per ounce at the morning fixing Friday, from $1,120 the previous week.

Palladium fell to $329.50 per ounce, from $340 one week earlier.

BASE METALS: Base metals prices were mixed.

The best performance came from nickel, which came close to reaching an all-time high.

On Thursday, nickel for delivery in three months struck $34,900 per ton in London trade, just $50 of its record peak reached in December.It ended the week lower, however.

BaseMetals.com analyst William Adams said nickel looked set to go higher amid a tight supply situation.

In the more bullish metals, notably copper, nickel, tin and zinc, the situation could get quite tight again, especially given the level of stocks and the potential deficits, he said.

On Friday, three-month copper prices rose to $5,820 per ton on the London Metal Exchange from $5,751 the previous week.

Three-month aluminium prices climbed to $2,760 per ton from $2,682.50.

Three-month nickel prices fell to $33,650 per ton from $33,900.

Three-month lead prices dropped to $1,602 per ton from $1,660.

Three-month zinc prices declined to $3,785 per ton from $4,050. Three-month tin prices slid to $10,600 per ton from $11,795 a week earlier.

OIL: World oil prices fell heavily again, bringing losses since the start of 2007 to about 15 per cent.

In London, the price of Brent North Sea crude for February delivery dived to $51.65 a barrel this week, the lowest level since June 9, 2005.

New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in February, hit a low of 51.80 dollars, last seen on May 31, 2005.

With winter upon us, the market is focused on heating stocks, Societe Generale analyst Frederic Lasserre said.

The warm winter has particularly affected US demand for heating fuel and comes at a time when stockpiles of US energy products are deemed by the market to be at a high level.

The US Department of Energy said Wednesday that US reserves of distillates and gasoline (petrol) rose sharply last week, offsetting a bigger-than-expected drop in crude oil inventories.

With prices tumbling, the market is looking to Opec to cut its production further.

Traders meanwhile overlooked Russia's oil dispute with neighbour Belarus,

The dispute led to a disruption of around 1.4 million barrels per day of oil exports from Russia to five European states and re-ignited concerns about Russia's reliability as an energy supplier.

By Friday in New York, a barrel of crude for delivery in February slumped to $52.30 per barrel from $55.50 the previous week.

In London, a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February dived to $52.45 per barrel, from $55.10.

RUBBER: Rubber prices jumped by almost 6.0 per cent this week in Tokyo and 5.0 per cent in Singapore following rainfall in producer nations Indonesia and Malaysia.

Prices jumped on “interest from speculators in combination with average-to-poor production because” of the weather, said Rashid Ahmed of Corrie MacColl.

On TOCOM, Tokyo's commodity exchange, natural rubber for June delivery jumped to 253.60 yen per kilogramme on Friday, from 239.30 yen a week earlier.

Singapore's RSS 3 April contract rose to 204.50 US cents per kilogramme on Friday, from 194.50 US cents a week earlier.

COCOA: Cocoa prices fell slightly in London and New York.

On the LIFFE, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for March delivery stood at 892 pounds per ton on Friday, from 894 pounds a week earlier.

On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the March contract fell to $1,631 per ton on Friday, from $1,657 the previous week.

COFFEE: Coffee prices dropped further in London and New York.

On LIFFE, Robusta quality for March delivery fell to $1,546 per ton on Friday, from $1,587 a week earlier.

On NYBOT, Arabica for March delivery decreased to 120.25 cents per pound on Friday, from 120.50 cents the previous week.

SUGAR: Sugar prices dropped to 13-month lows in London.

Investors closely monitored softer oil prices that continue to weigh on the market, Sucden analyst Michael Davies said.

Sugar is used to make ethanol, a cheaper alternative to gasoline, which is refined from crude oil. But with oil prices dropping, there has been less demand for ethanol.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a ton of white sugar for March delivery slid to $327 at about 1615 GMT, compared with $332.50 a week earlier.On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for March delivery eased to 10.92 US cents per pound, from 11.30 US cents the previous week.

GRAINS AND SOYA: Maize and soya prices rose strongly after the US government forecast a drop in world output.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, the price of wheat for March delivery jumped to Us$4.84 per bushel on Friday, from $4.67 the previous week. Maize for March delivery climbed to $3.96 per bushel on Friday, from $3.62 the previous week.

March-dated soyabean meal -- used in animal feed -- increased to 7.12 dollars on Friday, from 6.75 dollars the previous week.

On the LIFFE, the price of a tonne of wheat for March delivery increased to 96.25 pounds on Friday, from 96 pounds.

COTTON: Cotton prices fell further on signs of dwindling demand for US exports.

On the NYBOT, the March contract dropped to 53.60 US cents per pound at about 1615 GMT on Friday, from 54.34 US cents the previous week.

The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton stood at 59.20 US cents on Thursday, from 60.60 cents a week earlier.

WOOL: The Australian wool market reopened after the holiday break with a bang, as prices shot up almost 10 per cent on strong demand.

“In a spectacular start to the second half of the season, the Australian Wool market finished 9.9 per cent higher,” the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat said.

The market was expected to open on a higher level as there were reports of considerable enquiry and business being done during the break. The Eastern index soared to 9.51 Australian dollars per kilo on Thursday, from 8.39 dollars on December 14, 2006.—AFP