Precious and base metals raced to historic and multi-year high points last week on heavy buying by investment funds. "Base and precious metals remain in a virtuous circle with each appearing to feed off the strength of the others," UBS analyst Robin Bhar said.
Oil prices surged above 67.0 dollars per barrel in New York on supply concerns.
Sugar prices hit a 17-year peak on strong demand for ethanol. Sugar cane is used to produce ethanol, a cheaper alternative to gasoline (petrol).
The Commodities Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities climbed to 337.07 points on Friday, from 328.35 points the previous week.
GOLD: Gold prices raced higher, hitting 589.15 dollars on Friday, the highest level since January 1981.
"The slightly weaker dollar against the euro, firm oil prices, ongoing geopolitical uncertainty... have all created a positive environment for gold," Barclays Capital analyst Yingxi Yu said.
Gold is viewed as a safe-haven investment since it tends to be a good hedge against inflation.
On the London Bullion Market, gold prices jumped to 582.0 dollars per ounce at Friday's late fixing from 556.75 dollars the previous week.
SILVER: Silver prices rose above 11.0 dollars per ounce for the first time in more than 22 years. Silver reached 11.925 dollars per ounce on Friday - the highest level since September 1983. Prices have jumped 32.0 percent since the start of 2006.
Silver has been boosted by the prospect that a silver fund will begin trading soon on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX).
As well as being used in jewellery, silver is known as an industrial metal for its use in photography and dentistry.
On the London Bullion Market, silver prices increased to 11.75 dollars per ounce at Friday's fixing, from 10.68 dollars the previous week.
PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM: Platinum prices jumped to a record peak and palladium to the highest point in three and a half years on strong buying by investment funds. Platinum reached a historic high 1,094.75 dollars per ounce on Friday.
Prices have risen 11.5 percent so far this year. Palladium prices struck 350.50 dollars per ounce on Friday, the highest level since August 2002. Like silver, palladium prices have soared 32.0 percent since the beginning of January.
"Interest still exists even at such high prices," said Yu of Barclays Capital. The sister metals are used mainly by car and jewellery manufacturers.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum gained to 1,076 dollars per ounce at the late fixing on Friday, compared with 1,042 dollars the previous week.
Palladium rose to 332.0 dollars per ounce on Friday, from 324.0 dollars.
BASE METALS: Copper and zinc prices achieved historic highs.
"Base metals go from strength to strength," said Bahr of UBS. "Renewed fund and investor buying has lifted base metals higher still, with copper and zinc trading at new all-time record highs."
He added: "Supply concerns are feeding straight through to higher prices, especially copper and zinc, given low stocks and robust physical demand."
Three-month copper prices reached Friday a record high 5,510.25 dollars per tonne.
Copper, used in electrical wiring and plumbing, had surged by 50 percent in 2005.
Three-month zinc prices hit a record high also Friday, of 2,705.0 dollars per tonne. Zinc, used to galvanise iron and steel, had risen 60.0 percent in 2005.
On Friday, three-month copper prices on the London Metal Exchange jumped to 5,470.0 dollars per tonne from 5,207.0 dollars the previous week.
Three-month aluminium prices climbed to 2,537.0 dollars per tonne from 2,512.0 dollars.
Three-month nickel prices advanced to 15,430.0 dollars per tonne from 15,080 dollars.
Three-month lead prices fell to 1,215.0 dollars per tonne from 1,235.0 dollars.
Three-month zinc prices rose to 2,680.0 dollars per tonne from 2,543.0 dollars.
Three-month tin prices increased to 8,230.0 dollars per tonne from 8,125.0 dollars.
OIL: World crude prices reached the highest points for two months on falling gasoline (petrol) inventories in the United States, the world's biggest energy consumer, and tensions in major crude producers Nigeria and Iran.
New York's light sweet crude for May delivery reached 67.30 dollars per barrel on Thursday, the highest point since February 1.
On Friday in London, Brent North Sea crude for May delivery rose to 66.81 dollars, a level last reached also on February.
On Wednesday, the US Department of Energy reported the biggest weekly drop in US gasoline inventories since August 2003.
The DoE said gasoline stocks had fallen by 5.4 million barrels to 216.2 million barrels during the week ending March 24. Analysts had expected them to fall by only 1.3 million barrels.
The drop comes ahead of the peak demand season for gasoline between May and the end of the northern hemisphere summer, when American drivers take to the roads on vacation.
Crude futures had begun spiking Tuesday after Nigerian separatist rebels said the release of three kidnapped oil workers was in no way a signal of the end to their violent campaign.
The hostages, two Americans and a Briton were freed Monday after being held for more than a month. Nigeria, the biggest producer of crude oil in Africa, has seen output cut by more than 20 percent as a result of attacks on oil installations in the Niger Delta.
Regarding Iran, the market is concerned that possible sanctions against the world's fourth biggest producer of crude, as punishment for its disputed nuclear programme, might lead the country to disrupt its oil exports.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said Friday that Tehran would not use its oil supplies as a lever in the dispute.
Looking ahead, Informa Global Markets analyst Peter Luxton said prices could be expected to head higher.
"The view is that there could be a supply disruption on both the crude and the products side," he added.
In London, a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for delivery in May soared to 65.70 dollars per barrel on Friday, from 63.56 dollars the previous week.
In New York, a barrel of crude for delivery in May advanced to 65.69 dollars per barrel Friday from 64.40 dollars.
RUBBER: Rubber prices gained. "There's been a mild increase in prices on fund buying, probably a spill over from other commodities such as metals," Corrie MacColl analyst Rashid Ahmed said. "The production is not so strong now because of wintering." Wintering refers to the low-harvest season which normally lasts between February and April across major rubber producers Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. However this year it has begun late and is set to end early.
On TOCOM, Tokyo's commodity exchange, natural rubber for June delivery increased to 254.50 yen per kilogramme on Friday, from 245.70 yen the previous week.
Singapore's RSS 3 June contract rose to 214.0 US cents per kilogramme on Friday, from 206.75 cents.
COCOA: Cocoa prices rebounded on speculative buying, despite expectations of a robust harvest in major producer Ivory Coast. "The Ivory Coasts mid-crop harvest (April-September), which officially gets under way on Saturday, is expected to be a bumper crop after good rains in many of the growing regions in the last week," Sucden analysts said.
Ivory Coast is forecast to produce a crop totalling between 250,000 to 350,000 tonnes.
On the Liffe, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for May delivery climbed to 914.0 pounds on Friday, from 909.0 pounds a week earlier.
On the New York Board of Trade (NYBoT), the May contract advanced to 1,493.0 dollars per tonne on Friday, from 1,487.0 dollars.
COFFEE: Coffee prices slid to a three-month low in London owing to forecasts of a strong harvest for Robusta quality coffee.
Prices fell Wednesday below 1,100 dollars per tonne for the first time since early December.
"Vietnamese coffee farmers are seen offering more (Robusta) beans in coming weeks," Sucden analysts said. Robusta coffee is more bitter than Arabica quality coffee.
On Liffe, Robusta quality for May delivery fell to 1,107 dollars per tonne on Friday, from 1,127 dollars a week earlier.
On NYBoT, Arabica for May delivery gained to 108.20 US cents per pound on Friday, from 106.15 cents.
SUGAR: Sugar prices jumped to 480.0 dollars per tonne in London on Thursday - the highest level since January 1989. "Another rise in oil prices was likely the cause as demand for sugar to be used in ethanol production increases," Sucden analysts said.
White sugar futures have surged 35.0 percent since the start of 2006 and by 120.0 percent in one year.
By Friday on Liffe, the price of a tonne of white sugar for May delivery hiked to 478.0 dollars, from 448.0 dollars the previous week.
On NYBot, the price of unrefined sugar for May delivery advanced to 18.31 US cents per pound on Friday, from 16.92 cents.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Grain and soya prices climbed as the US government said Friday that it would plant less maize and wheat this year, but more soya.
On the Liffe, the price of a tonne of wheat for May delivery rose to 72.90 pounds late Friday, from 72.40 pounds a week earlier.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, the price of wheat for May delivery edged up to 3.45 US dollars per bushel on Friday, from 3.44 dollars.
Maize for May delivery increased to 2.28 dollars per bushel Friday from 2.21 dollars.
May-dated soyabean meal - used in animal feed - gained to 5.88 dollars per tonne, from 5.78 dollars a week earlier.
COTTON: Cotton prices rebounded owing to a large increase in US sales. The US Department of Agriculture said Thursday that orders of US cotton stood at 470,500 bales in the week ending March 23, the highest amount this year.
However, they are up 45.0 percent when compared with the previous four-week average.
On the New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE), the May contract climbed to 53.70 US cents per pound on Friday, from 52.80 US cents one week earlier.
The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton increased to 58.15 US cents on Thursday, from 58.05 cents the previous week.
WOOL: Wool prices extended losses in major exporter Australia.
The Australian Eastern index fell to 7.38 Australian dollars per kilo on Thursday, from 7.44 Australian dollars the previous week. The British Wooltops index declined to 422.0 pence on Thursday, from 436.0 pence the previous week.
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