Oil surges as Syria threat rocks commodity markets

Three-month nickel dropped to US$13,864 a tonne from US$14,525, while three-month zinc declined to US$1,905.25 a tonne from US$1,971.

COCOA: Cocoa futures edged higher as traders paused for breath, one week after striking multi-month peaks on worries over output from top producer Ivory Coast.

By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, cocoa for delivery in December rose to ￡1,639 a tonne from ￡1,628 a week earlier.

On New York’s NYBOT-ICE exchange, cocoa for December firmed to US$2,468 a tonne compared with US$2,461 a week earlier.