Crude oil prices ducked below 58 dollars this week, calmed by healthy US energy stockpiles, but rebounded slightly after Opec signalled it might cut output to remedy the situation.
Gold prices fell heavily because weaker oil prices reduce the risk of inflation, in turn lessening the attractiveness of the precious metal, which is seen as a good hedge against rising costs. On Friday, the Commodities Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities fell to 300.16 points, from 304.47 points the previous week. It dropped to 292.72 points on Wednesday, the lowest level since May 2005.
GOLD: Gold plummeted to the lowest point for four months. The precious metal sank to 559.40 dollars on Wednesday, the lowest level since June 15. Gold has shed some 23 percent in value since reaching a 26-year peak of 730.40 dollars in May.
"The short term outlook for gold and silver will continue to be dominated by movements in oil," UBS analyst John Reade said. On the London Bullion Market, gold prices slid to 560.75 dollars per ounce at Friday's late fixing, from 599.25 dollars one week earlier.
SILVER: Silver prices retreated, but losses were capped by modest demand. "Silver has taken on a weaker appearance but the strong support suggests investors are still keen to get a handle on the metal," said James Moore, an analyst for specialist website TheBullionDesk.com.
Silver slid past the 11-dollar mark, falling as low as 10.59 dollars per ounce in London trade on Wednesday. The metal has lost 30 percent in value since striking a 26-year peak of 15.22 dollars in May. On the London Bullion Market, silver prices receded to 11.01 dollars per ounce at Friday's fixing, from 11.55 dollars the previous week.
PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM: Platinum prices skidded to a six-month low owing to weak Chinese demand, while palladium dropped under 300 dollars per ounce, striking the lowest point for nearly four months.
On Friday Platinum slipped to 1,065.80 dollars per ounce, a level last seen on April 7. The metal's price has dived 200 dollars in one month, leaving it 20 percent lower than in May when it struck a record peak 1,340 dollars. Palladium meanwhile touched 289.50 dollars in London on Wednesday - the lowest point since June 20.
"The absence of physical demand from China left platinum at the mercy of fund liquidation," Moore said. "The white metal now needs to stabilise and hold the 1,085-1,100 dollar area or run the risk of a larger correction." Moore added: "Given the current conditions palladium remains at risk of correcting back to June's low of 265 dollars."
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum recoiled to 1,070 dollars per ounce at the late fixing Friday, from 1,140 dollars the previous week. Palladium retreated to 295 dollars per ounce on Friday from 314 dollars the previous week.
BASE METALS: Base metal prices enjoyed mixed fortunes. Copper prices sank lower but could regain upward momentum owing to low global stocks, analysts said.
"Although we feel copper prices will move significantly lower during the course of 2007, we do see the potential for short to medium term tightness that could even send prices to fresh highs during the remainder of this year," said William Adams, an analyst at specialist website BaseMetals.com. On Friday, three-month copper prices stood at 7,370 dollars per tonne on the London Metal Exchange from 7,580 dollars the previous week.
Three-month aluminium prices fell to 2,549 dollars per tonne from 2,587.00 dollars. Three-month nickel prices rose to 29,300 dollars per tonne from 28,800 dollars. Three-month lead prices increased to 1,410 dollars per tonne from 1,400 dollars. Three-month zinc prices climbed to 3,534 dollars per tonne from 3,346 dollars. Three-month tin prices stood at 9,100 dollars per tonne, up from 9,000 dollars a week earlier.
OIL: Crude oil futures plunged owing to a variety of bearish factors. Prices are plumbing fresh multi-month lows as the market is soothed by bulging US fuel inventories, signs of slowing US economic growth, an uneventful Atlantic hurricane season and forecasts for a warmer-than-usual northern hemisphere winter.
New York crude plummeted at one point on Wednesday to 57.70 dollars per barrel, a level last seen on February 16, while London Brent sank to 57.70 dollars a barrel - last hit on December 30, 2005. Market participants are meanwhile setting aside worries over the nuclear energy crisis in Iran, which is the world's fourth-biggest crude producer.
Losses were limited, however, by an upsurge of violence in Nigeria, which is Africa's biggest oil producing nation. Oil prices have fallen by around 25 percent since striking records above 78 dollars in July and August, as the market has increasingly discounted geopolitical concerns and focused instead on healthy supplies.
The US Department of Energy said Wednesday that crude oil reserves surged 3.3 million barrels in the week to September 29. Analysts had expected crude reserves to fall by 1.1 million barrels. Inventories of US distillates, used for heating oil and diesel fuel, crept up by 200,000 barrels to 151.5 million last week. That was far less than forecasts of a gain of 1.5 million. Distillates are a key market focus ahead of the northern hemisphere winter, during which demand for heating fuel peaks.
Oil price staged a brief rally close to 61 dollars after Opec president Edmund Daukoru said that the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries might hold an emergency meeting on whether to slash output. "We are toying with the possibility of having an emergency meeting," Daukoru, who is also Nigerian Oil Minister, had told AFP. Meanwhile in Algiers, the Algerian press agency APS quoted an "informed source" who said the meeting would take place on October 18-19 in Vienna. However, an Opec spokesman denied that was the case. At about 1630 GMT on Friday in New York, a barrel of crude for delivery in November sank to 59.20 dollars per barrel from 62.25 dollars the previous week. In London, a barrel of Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November tumbled to 59.18 dollars per barrel, from 61.90 dollars.
RUBBER: Rubber prices extended gains as the market geared up for the start of the rainy season in Asian-producing countries, which makes it harder to collect latex. Ahead of the rainy season, which generally begins in October, Thailand has seen many heavy downpours. "It reminds producers that they're heading into the rainy season," Corrie MacColl analyst Rashid Ahmed said.
On TOCOM, Tokyo's commodity exchange, natural rubber for February delivery gained to 230.50 yen per kilogramme on Friday, from 213.70 yen a week earlier.
Singapore's RSS 3 January contract rose to 190.25 US cents per kilogramme on Friday, from 179.75 US cents a week earlier.
COCOA: Cocoa prices eased despite concerns over the unstable political outlook in Ivory Coast. "The world's top cocoa grower, Ivory Coast, has just started to harvest this season's main crop and with increasing political tensions in the war divided country there is a potential for cocoa prices to rise higher," Sucden analyst Michael Davies said.
West African heads of state met in the Nigerian capital Abuja on Friday for a key summit aimed at reviving the stalled peace process in Ivory Coast where presidential elections have twice been postponed. Once a model of prosperity and stability in west Africa, the former French colony has been split into a rebel-held north and a government-controlled south since a brief civil war in 2002 when rebels tried to topple President Laurent Gbagbo.
On the Liffe, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for December delivery dipped to 831 pounds per tonne on Friday, from 834 pounds a week earlier. On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the December contract stood at 1,450 dollars per tonne on Friday, from 1,461 dollars a week earlier.
COFFEE: Coffee prices slid on profit-taking amid easing supply concerns. Robusta quality coffee tumbled five percent on Thursday. Meanwhile New York Arabica coffee "slumped lower amid profit taking on the back of recent gains", Davies said.
On Liffe, Robusta quality for November delivery slid to 1,472 dollars per tonne on Friday, from 1,555 dollars a week earlier. On NYBOT, Arabica for December delivery decreased to 104.10 US cents per pound on Friday, from 107.90 cents.
SUGAR: Sugar prices dropped in London to the lowest point since the end of 2005 with investors judging the market to be oversupplied.
"In the end, it is difficult to suggest that the bear market in sugar is over," Fimat analyst James Cassidy said. On Wednesday in London, sugar hit 326 dollars per tonne - the lowest point since December 2005. The price had stood at almost 500 dollars in May. By Friday on Liffe, the price of a tonne of white sugar for March delivery hit 335.60 dollars, compared with 351.00 dollars a week earlier. On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for December delivery slipped to 11.10 US cents per pound, from 11.75 cents.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Grains and soya prices bounced higher, led by wheat on the back of drought fears in Australia. "Australia's crop is getting no better," Allendale analyst Joe Victor said. "The global supply is declining and demand remains fairly decent."
In Chicago on Thursday, the price of wheat soared to 4.87 dollars per bushel - the highest level since August 1996. In London, wheat prices touched 95 dollars per tonne - the highest point since May, 2004. On the Chicago Board of Trade, the price of wheat for December delivery increased to 4.69 US dollars per bushel on Friday, from 4.45 dollars a week earlier.
Maize for December delivery gained to 2.71 dollars per bushel on Friday, from 2.63 dollars. November-dated soyabean meal - used in animal feed - advanced to 5.64 dollars, from 5.49 dollars the previous week. On the Liffe, the price of a tonne of wheat for November delivery rose to 93.00 pounds on Friday, from 90.00 pounds.
COTTON: Cotton prices slid as favourable harvest conditions offset strong US exports. The United States exported 254,200 bales of cotton in the week ended September 28 - a 34-percent rise from the previous week, government data showed. On the NYBOT, the December contract fell to 49.50 US cents per pound on Friday, from 51.26 US cents a week earlier. The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton dropped to 57.45 US cents on Thursday, from 58.45 cents the previous week.
WOOL: Wool prices weakened despite news of lower production in Australia, the world's biggest exporter of the commodity. Just 49,482 bales of wool were placed on the Australian market this week, far less than the 67,430 bales the previous week, according to the Australian Wool Industries Secretariat. The Wool Production Forecasting Committee, meanwhile, revised down its forecast for 2006/07 to 434,000 tonnes, which marked a year-on-year drop of 5.9 percent.
The Eastern index fell to 7.37 Australian dollars per kilo on Thursday, from 7.39 the previous week. The British Wooltops index stood at 390 pence on Thursday, compared with 392 pence the previous Thursday.
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