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Oil prices hit one-year high, while metals rally

Crude oil prices hit a one-year high of US$82 and metals rallied this week as the US currency struck a 14-month low against the euro as investors took on greater risk amid signs of recovery, traders said.

Among the soft commodities, cocoa prices struck 24-year highs on prospects of a poor crop in leading producer Ivory Coast. Andy Lipow of Lipow Oil Associates said a weak dollar “precipitated some buying in the commodities market, not only in oil.”

The European single currency jumped above US$1.50 on Wednesday for the first time since August last year as investors looked beyond the safe-haven US unit, of which the super-low interest rates are no longer attractive as recovery takes hold.

OIL: Oil prices rallied in the past week, with New York crude hitting a one-year high of US$82, driven by a weak dollar and optimism over the global economic recovery, analysts said.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for delivery in December, touched US$82 a barrel on Wednesday — a level last seen on Oct. 14 last year.

The falling dollar makes dollar-priced oil cheaper for buyers holding stronger currencies, and therefore tends to stimulate crude demand and eventually prices.

OPEC Secretary-General Abdalla Salem El-Badri said in London on Thursday that the cartel would consider ramping up crude oil production at its next meeting in December should economic growth improve and other conditions be met.

The cartel “will not hesitate to increase its production in December,” he told reporters, adding the decision was dependent also on higher oil prices and no floating storage of crude.

By Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for delivery in November rose to US$80.48 dollars compared with US$77.32 for the expired November contract a week earlier.

On London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for December delivery climbed to US$78.91 from US$75.93 dollars a week earlier.

PRECIOUS METALS: The price of gold rose but failed to beat its recent record high of US$1,070.80 an ounce.

Gold hit an all-time high the previous week as the dollar weakened before falling on profit-­taking. Platinum and palladium reached their highest levels in more than a year.

By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold climbed to US$1,061.75 an ounce from US$1,047.50 a week earlier.

Silver gained to US$17.65 an ounce from US$17.31.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum advanced to US$1,372 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from US$1,346.

Palladium firmed to US$338 an ounce from US$326.
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