Oil prices rocketed to record high levels in New York last week, with traders increasingly nervous about the prospect of further attacks in the Middle East and low inventories of US gasoline.
New York's main crude oil contract shot to a record high of 41.50 dollars per barrel on Friday within minutes of trade opening there, before easing.
Gold headed south - the dollar-denominated commodity hitting a near seven-month trough as the US unit surged against other major currencies. The Commodities Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities fell to 270.90 points on Friday from 272.84 a week earlier.
GOLD: Gold prices slid to a near seven-month low before rebounding slightly, as the dollar rallied against the euro and yen amid increasing signs of a hike in US interest rates soon.
On the London Bullion Market, the price of gold fell to 374.10 dollars per ounce at Monday's morning fixing, its lowest level since October 20, 2003, before recovering slightly.
Gold is closely linked to the dollar, so that when the US currency shows strength, the price of the yellow metal tends to fall.
"The market has moved as you would expect, inversely to the US dollar," said analyst Ross Norman at TheBullionDesk.com, a specialist website.
"Speculation of a hike in US interest rates is keeping gold pressured."
But Norman added: "The backdrop of terrorist and geopolitical tensions will continue to keep gold an attractive investment to the more cautious speculator."
On the London Bullion Market, gold prices slid to 376.50 dollars per ounce late Friday from 380.80 a week earlier.
SILVER: Silver prices fell again and have now shed almost 35 percent since April 2, when they hit 8.45 dollars per ounce - the highest level for 17 years.
"The rise seen earlier this year in silver had nothing to do with fundamentals," Norman said. "It was a perception among the funds that they should invest in all commodities." Silver prices dropped to 5.560 dollars per ounce on Friday from 5.800 dollars a week earlier.
PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM: Platinum and palladium prices fell, hit by selling by speculative funds and a resurgent dollar, which makes the dollar-priced precious metals more expensive for buyers using other currencies, analysts said.
"It is surprising that palladium is holding up as well as it is given that profit-taking by the funds weigh heavily on the market," Norman said.
By Friday, platinum prices traded at 793 dollars per ounce on the London Platinum and Palladium Market from 796 dollars a week earlier.
Palladium prices declined to 238 dollars per ounce from 251 dollars.
BASE METALS: Base metals prices slipped, weighed down by a strong dollar and further measures taken by China to cool its fast growing economy.
"Prices fell this week, essentially because of the dollar," BNP Paribas analyst Sylvain Brunet said.
He added that the market was adjusting to the continuing policy by China, which has shown a strong appetite for raw materials, to try to cool its sizzling economy. China's state press reported Friday that the nation had widened the group of industries targeted for credit restrictions, with base metals earmarked for belt-tightening.
There have already been reports that the Chinese authorities had halted approvals for new steel, aluminum and cement projects, as part of efforts to keep their surging economy under control.
By late Friday, three-month copper prices fell to 2,596 dollars per tonne on the London Metal Exchange from 2,673 dollars a week earlier.
Aluminium prices dropped to 1,596 dollars per tonne from 1,650.50
Three-month nickel prices stood at 10,730 dollars per tonne from 11,000.
Three-month lead prices traded at 731 dollars per tonne from 746.
Three-month tin prices edged down to 8,800 dollars per tonne from 8,900.
Three-month zinc prices were at 1,015.50 dollars per tonne from 1,154.00.
OIL: Oil prices soared to record high levels in New York, shattering the previous record of 41.15 dollars per barrel set in October 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait ahead of the 1991 Gulf War.
New York's reference light sweet crude for June delivery surged 42 cents to 41.50 dollars minutes after official trade opened on Friday.
New York's main crude oil contract closed at 41.08 dollars per barrel on Thursday for a second successive record closing high.
Oil prices first surged to a record closing high point on Wednesday after the latest snapshot of US inventories showed an unexpected fall in gasoline stocks.
Traders are worried about low inventories of US gasoline ahead of the so-called "summer driving season" in the United States that begins on May 31, when holidaying motorists take to the open roads.
"The principle reason for strong prices is that the market is tight," said Leo Drollas, from the Centre for Global Energy Studies. "The turmoil in the Middle East, especially in Iraq, is obviously a factor (behind surging prices)," he added. Exports of Iraqi crude are still lagging at one million barrels per day (bpd), several days after saboteurs torched a vital feeder pipeline in the south of the country, oil officials said Thursday.
Meanwhile, gunmen attacked a Saudi oil facility on May 1 at Yanbu port, killing five employees of the Swiss engineering group ABB and a Saudi national guard soldier.
The week's surge in prices came as the International Energy Agency called on suppliers to pump more crude, saying booming economic growth around the world was spurring demand for oil at the fastest rate for 16 years.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries for its part signalled that it could boost its output quotas to help to cool prices - a move analysts said would have minimal impact.
"Unfortunately, I don't think OPEC have got that much control over this market anymore," Macquarie Bank trader Jon House said. "They used to have but people now question whether they have got the oil necessary."
On Friday, the price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for June delivery surged to 38.88 dollars per barrel in late London trading from 37.05 dollars a week earlier.
In New York, the reference light sweet crude June contract shot to 41.37 dollars from 39.92.
RUBBER: Rubber prices rose this week, lifted by strong demand.
"Japan was once again the king of the ocean," said one London trader, adding that there was "reasonably good" demand from Europe
The trader, who wished to remain anonymous, said that an 8.5-percent fall in the value of the Indonesian currency against the dollar since mid-January has allowed the price of Indonesian rubber to remain competitive.
In Osaka, the RSS 3 June contract rose to 152.90 cents on Friday against 143.60 cents a week earlier.
Singapore's RSS 3 contract for July lifted to 133.75 cents from 132.50 cents the previous Friday.
COCOA: Cocoa prices were hit by rising supply and expectations of strong harvests in west Africa, the world's leading producer region.
"Plentiful supply and a positive outlook for the mid-crop and the forthcoming main crop (in west Africa) is weighing on the market," Refco analyst Ann Prendergast said.
On LIFFE, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for July delivery fell to 793 pounds per tonne on Friday from 797 pounds a week earlier.
On the CSCE, the New York futures market, the July contract stood at 1,323 dollars per tonne from 1,356 dollars.
COFFEE: Coffee prices climbed, benefiting from concerns over the arrival of winter in major producer Brazil later this month.
"Coffee futures are supported by frost fears... but undermined by increasingly dismal fundamentals," Prendergast said - referring to the fact that supply greatly outweighed demand.
On LIFFE, Robusta quality for July delivery rose to 721 dollars per tonne on Friday, from 708 dollars a week earlier.
On New York's CSCE market, Arabica for May delivery traded at 70.50 cents a pound from 70.75 cents.
COTTON: Cotton prices headed higher, lifted by a strong rise in US export sales and selling by speculative funds, analysts said.
US cotton export sales rose by 10 percent in the week to May 6 to 143,000 bales, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
New York's July contract rose to 65.50 cents per pound on Friday from 62.70 cents a week earlier.
The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton, the average of the world's lowest prices, gained to 71.10 cents on Thursday from 69.50 cents a week earlier.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Maize and soya prices fell, hit by forecasts of wet weather seen as good for production in US Midwest producer regions.
But prices were able to find support from data that showed China was consuming more grains and soya than it produced, forcing it to seek imports.
On LIFFE, wheat for July delivery dropped to 89.75 pounds per tonne on Friday from 94.00 pounds a week earlier.
In Chicago, the price of wheat for July delivery fell to 371.50 cents per bushel from 400.50 cents.
Maize for July delivery dropped to 293 cents per bushel from 306.50 cents.
Soyabeans for July delivery stood at 977 cents per bushel from 993 cents.
July-dated soyabean meal - used in animal feed - traded at 314.50 dollars per tonne from 317.20 dollars.
SUGAR: Sugar prices dropped, pulled down by selling from investment funds, as the market awaited a huge harvest in Brazil, analysts said.
On LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for August delivery dropped to 212.50 dollars on Friday from 222.60 dollars a week earlier.
On the CSCE in New York, a pound of unrefined sugar for July delivery stood at 6.35 cents from 6.72 cents.
WOOL: Australian wool prices rebounded as the Australian dollar fell slightly against the US unit, helping to boost Chinese demand.
"The Australian wool market steadied this week to end 1.9 percent higher on average," the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat said.
The week "saw a surge in wool prices which was largely due to the falling Australian dollar and the Chinese influence", it added.
The Australian Eastern index climbed to 7.75 Australian dollars per kilo from 7.66 a week earlier.
The British Wooltops index stood at 431 pence from 436.
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