Commodity prices buckled this week, with gold slumping, as investors fretted over the unresolved eurozone debt crisis and growing recession fears that are blighting financial markets worldwide.
“The global macroeconomic picture looks fairly gloomy at the moment, following weak US economic figures and ongoing worries about the eurozone’s debt issues,” Sucden analyst Myrto Sokou said.
PRECIOUS METALS: Gold tumbled as low as US$1,532.72 on Monday — hitting the lowest point since July.
The precious metal, which is traditionally regarded as a safe haven for investors, has now shed more than 20 percent of its value since striking a record peak at US$1,921.15 an ounce on Sept. 6.
By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold sank to US$1,620 an ounce from US$1,689 the previous week.
Silver dropped to US$30.45 an ounce from US$32.90.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum retreated to US$1,511 an ounce from US$1,651.
Palladium decreased to US$614 an ounce from US$659.
BASE METALS: Industrial or base metal prices mostly fell, with sentiment hurt by global economic woes, while investors digested news of a potential takeover battle brewing for control of the London Metal Exchange (LME).
Tin, meanwhile, rose, bucking the downward trend, after the world’s biggest tin exporter, Indonesia, threw its support behind a ban on tin exports aimed at reviving slumping prices.
By late Friday on the LME, copper for delivery in three months dived to US$7,070 a tonne from US$7,488 the previous week.
Three-month aluminum slid to US$2,223 a tonne from US$2,241.
Three-month tin increased to US$20,500 a tonne from US$19,700.
Three-month nickel fell to US$18,150 a tonne from US$18,355.
OIL: World oil prices fell on Friday, but finished the week on a stable note after roller-coaster trade over the previous five days.
Crude futures had surged by more than US$4 in New York on Tuesday, mirroring huge gains in stock markets, as investors hoped that European leaders would contain the eurozone debt crisis.
However, prices tumbled on Wednesday as those hopes subsided and after data showed a bigger-than-expected increase in energy stockpiles in the US, indicating weak demand in the world’s biggest economy and oil consumer.
Oil edged higher on Thursday on news German lawmakers had approved an expansion of the eurozone’s rescue fund, while sentiment was also lifted by hopeful economic data in the US.
However, those gains were capped by news of plunging German retail sales and a contracting manufacturing sector in China, sparking a modest selloff on Friday.
By late Friday on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in November retreated to US$103.12 a barrel from US$104.60 a week earlier.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate, or light sweet crude, for November, firmed to US$80.65 a barrel from US$80.00.
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