Oil is fast approaching US$100 for the first time in two years, at the end of a momentous week which saw the market driven by the Brent contract’s looming expiry, supply-side worries and falling US reserves.
OIL: London Brent oil surged to US$99.20 a barrel late on Friday — touching the highest level since October 1, 2008 — and encroaching on the key psychological milestone of US$100.
“London’s benchmark Brent crude touched on highs above US$99 ahead of February expiry on Friday,” VTB Capital analyst Andrey Kryuchenkov said.
“It is because it’s the last day of trading for the February contract, and the market is rolling into March,” he added, and also cited volatile light trading volumes. March becomes the front-month contract next week.
By Friday afternoon on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in February leapt to US$98.65 a barrel from US$94.16 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for February, rallied to US$91.23 a barrel from US$89.26.
PRECIOUS METALS: Palladium enjoyed the most impressive run this week to strike US$823.95 for the first time since March 2001, before easing on profit-taking. Platinum meanwhile hit the best level since July 2008.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold was unchanged at US$1,367 an ounce from a week earlier.
Silver fell to US$28.27 an ounce from US$28.39.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum jumped to US$1,811 an ounce from US$1,735. Palladium leapt to US$795 an ounce from US$754.
BASE METALS: Nickel was the star performer, hitting an eight-month pinnacle of US$25,999 per tonne on the back of supply-side factors, according to Barclays Capital analyst Gayle Berry.
“Prices have been receiving support and nearby spreads have tightened on concerns that heavy flooding in parts of Australia may affect production, and that an approaching cyclone has caused Societe Le Nickel (SLN) to suspend mining in five locations in New Caledonia,” Berry said.
By late Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months jumped to US$9,640 a tonne from US$9,448 a week earlier.
Three-month aluminum slid to US$2,470 a tonne from US$2,529. Three-month nickel rallied to US$25,747 a tonne from US$24,510.
COCOA: Cocoa climbed in volatile trade as the market was beset by political uncertainty in key producer Ivory Coast.
By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, cocoa for March jumped to £1,979 a tonne from £1,913 a week earlier.
On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), cocoa for delivery in March rose to US$2,990 a tonne from US$2,863 a week earlier.
COFFEE: Coffee prices soared to a 13-year peak in London and a two-year high in London on the back of limited supplies.
Arabica spiked to US$2.4450 per pound (0.45kg) and Robusta touched US$2,185 a tonne on Wednesday, before profit-taking set in.
By Friday on NYBOT, Arabica for delivery in March was unchanged at US$2.3385 a pound from a week earlier.
On LIFFE, Robusta for March increased to US$2,116 a tonne by Friday from US$2,028 a week earlier.
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