The prices of raw materials were mixed this week in cautious trade despite increased signs of global economic recovery.
The US economy, the world’s biggest, appeared to hold on its path of recovery from deep recession as output shrank at an unrevised 1 percent pace in the second quarter, government data showed on Thursday.
OIL: New York oil prices spiked to US$75 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time in 10 months after strong US consumer confidence data, but fell back on profit-taking after failing to break through the key barrier.
“It was very much a knee-jerk reaction,” said Hanson Westhouse analyst David Hart, adding that there was a lack of buying interest to maintain prices above US$75.
“The logical conclusion to draw is that prices are going to go higher,” he added.
Oil won support this week from a weaker dollar, which makes dollar-priced crude cheaper for buyers using stronger currencies and therefore tends to stimulate demand and lift prices.
By Friday on London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October slid to US$72.85 a barrel from US$74.32 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for October dropped to US$72.70 a barrel from US$73.97.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices profited from a weaker dollar while platinum and palladium won “support from the ongoing supply disruptions in South Africa,” Barclays Capital analyst Suki Cooper said.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold advanced to US$955.50 an ounce from US$952.50 a week earlier.
Silver climbed to US$14.54 an ounce from US$14.01.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum gained to US$1,243 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from US$1,239.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Soya, maize and wheat prices all rose.
Drought in Australia meanwhile supported wheat prices, traders said.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in December rose to US$3.31 a bushel from US$3.26 a week earlier.
November-dated soyabean meal climbed to US$10.07 from US$9.73.
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