|
Weekly Commodity Roundup
Oil rebounds, platinum hits 25-year high
10/30/2005
LONDON, Oct 28 (AFP): World platinum prices hit the highest level for a quarter of a century as demand for the metal outpaced supply this week.
Oil prices rallied as energy demand was seen to be rising in the United States and China-the two biggest consumers of fuel.
Wool prices hit the lowest point for five and half years in leading producer Australia.
The Commodities Research Bureau's index of 17 commodities dipped to 321.26 points Friday from 321.54 points the previous week.
GOLD: On the London Bullion Market, gold prices jumped to 470.75 dollars per ounce at the late fixing Friday from 462.85 dollars the previous week.
SILVER: On the London Bullion Market, silver prices rose to 7.79 dollars per ounce at the late fixing Friday from 7.60 dollars the previous week.
PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM: Platinum rose to a 25-year high point and palladium reached the best level for a year.
The metal hit 947 dollars per ounce Thursday, the highest point since March 1980, when it reached more than 1,000 dollars.
Palladium meanwhile struck 227 dollars at Thursday's fixing, the highest fixing level since October 11, 2004.
BASE METALS: By Friday, three-month copper prices on the LME dipped to 3,841 dollars per tonne from 3,856 dollars the previous week.
Three-month aluminium prices gained to 1,938 dollars per tonne from 1,928.50 dollars.
Three-month nickel prices fell to 11,755 dollars per tonne from 11,925 dollars.
Three-month lead prices dropped to 951 dollars per tonne from 955 dollars.
Three-month zinc prices increased to 1,544 dollars per tonne from 1,473 dollars.
Three-month tin prices slid to 6,250 dollars per tonne from 6,400 dollars.
OIL: World oil prices rebounded as the market began to focus on the upcoming northern hemisphere winter when demand for heating fuel was forecast to jump.
Worries about cold weather hitting the US northeast saw New York crude jump 2.12 dollars Tuesday to 62.44 dollars per barrel. Prices climbed this week also amid signs of higher Chinese demand, analysts said.
In New York, a barrel of crude for delivery in December rose to 61 dollars from 59.31 dollars.
RUBBER: Rubber prices drifted lower in quiet trade.
On TOCOM, Tokyo's commodity exchange, natural rubber for December delivery dipped to 190.20 yen Friday, from 193.50 yen a week earlier.
Singapore's RSS 3 December contract decreased to 166.50 cents Friday, from 167.25 cents the previous week.
COCOA: On the LIFFE, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for December delivery climbed to 822 pounds Friday, from 817 pounds a week earlier.
On the New York Board of Trade (NYBoT), the December contract climbed to 1,379 dollars per tonne Friday, from 1,365 dollars.
COFFEE: On the LIFFE, Robusta quality for January delivery fell to 945 dollars per tonne Friday, from 969 dollars a week earlier.
On the NYBoT, Arabica for December delivery slipped to 98.10 cents per pound, from 105.90 cents.
SUGAR: By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for December delivery stood at 289.80 dollars, from 299 dollars a week earlier.
On the NYBot, the price of unrefined sugar for March delivery stood at 11.69 US cents Friday, from 11.76 cents a week before.
GRAINS AND SOYA: On the LIFFE, the price of a tonne of wheat for November delivery firmed to 69 pounds late Friday, from 68 pounds a week earlier.
On the Chicago Board of Trade, the price of wheat for December delivery dropped to 324.50 US cents per bushel Friday, from 330 cents.
Maize for December delivery dipped to 197.50 cents per bushel Friday, from 201 cents.
Soyabeans for November delivery slipped to 567.50 cents per bushel Friday, from 573.50 cents.
December-dated soyabean meal-used in animal feed-rose to 169.90 dollars per tonne, from 168.90 dollars.
COTTON: On the New York Cotton Exchange (NYCE), the December contract declined to 52.00 US cents per pound Friday, from 53.30 cents a week earlier.
The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton stood at 59.05 cents Thursday, from 58.45 cents last week.
WOOL: The Australian Eastern index fell to 6.76 Australian dollars per kilo Thursday, the lowest point since March 2000.
The British Wooltops index stood at 402 pence Thursday, from 403 pence the previous week.
|