Commodities mainly fell this week as traders digested an EU plan to tackle the Greek debt crisis, alongside news of moderately weaker economic growth in the US, a key consumer.
“Most commodity markets [were] lower, weighed primarily by broader market concerns,” Barclays Capital analysts said in a research note to clients.
“Lingering concerns on sovereign risk in the euro area and a smattering of mixed US macro-economic data have all affected the trajectory of commodity price movements,” they added.
OIL: Prices fell at the start of the week, before attempting a brief recovery as the US dollar weakened, but drifted lower on Friday as traders mulled the Greek rescue deal and the US economic growth outlook.
Oil had fallen earlier in the week as traders also tracked US demand worries as a government inventory report showed a jump in American crude inventories.
The US government’s Department of Energy said in its weekly inventory report on Wednesday that crude oil inventories rose 7.2 million barrels last week, confounding expectations of an increase of 1.7 million barrels.
By late on Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, Texas light sweet crude for delivery in May sank to US$79.82 compared with US$80.29 a week earlier for the expired April contract.
On London’s IntercontinentalExchange, Brent North Sea crude for May delivery dipped to US$79.05 from US$79.66 a week earlier.
PRECIOUS METALS: The prices of all precious metals declined.
By Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold eased to US$1,096 an ounce from US$1,105 the previous week.
Silver dipped to US$16.85 an ounce from 17.31.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum edged down to US$1,596 an ounce from US$1,617.
Palladium fell to US$458 an ounce from US$476.
BASE METALS: Base or industrial metals diverged, despite growing hopes of a recovery in demand.
“There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that the biggest ever recovery in global base metals demand is taking shape,” Barclays Capital analysts said.
“Skepticism over the sustainability of this recovery and, in some cases, total blind-sidedness over any recovery at all, means that prices have yet to fully reflect what are turning into very positive demand dynamics indeed,” they said.
By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to US$7,512 a tonne from US$7,419 the previous week. Three-month aluminum dropped to US$2,230 a tonne from US$2,252.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Grains and soya prices weakened.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in May dipped to US$3.57 a bushel from US$3.74 the previous week.
May-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — dropped to US$9.45 from US$9.61.
Wheat for May was down to US$4.66 a bushel from US$4.83.
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