[Goldfisch]

Strong dollar hits metals; oil buoyed by security fears

(LONDON) A strong dollar pushed gold prices to a five-month low last week, and weighed on other commodities, while oil drew support from worries over supply and global security.

A strong US currency makes dollar-priced raw materials more expensive for many buyers outside of the US. 'The common threat to all the metals has been the sudden strength of the US dollar,' Societe Generale analyst Stephen Briggs said.

Gold: Gold prices slumped to their lowest level for five months, hitting US$389.95 on Thursday.

'Continual pressure from the currency markets following the dollar's steady rally against the major currencies has pushed gold back below the 400-dollar level,' said analyst James Moore at TheBullionDesk.com, a specialist website.

The dollar hit a five-month high against the euro on Wednesday after US Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan hinted at rising American interest rates.

By Friday afternoon, gold prices had fallen to US$394.50 an ounce on the London Bullion Market from US$400.85 a week earlier.

Silver: Silver prices slumped to a two-month low, hit by the dollar's rise and large-scale selling by speculative funds.

Societe Generale's Mr Briggs said: 'The silver bubble has burst. The price is down nearly 30 per cent' from a 17-year high of US$8.45 per ounce reached three weeks ago on strong speculative buying. By Friday, prices had plunged to US$6.190 against US$7.115 a week earlier.

Platinum and palladium: Platinum and palladium prices tumbled, weighed down by speculative selling and a resurgent dollar. Platinum fell below the psychological US$900 level while its sister metal traded under the US$300 mark.

By Friday, platinum prices stood at US$850 per ounce on the London Platinum and Palladium Market from US$917 a week earlier. Palladium prices traded at US$278 against US$309.

Base metals: Base metals' prices declined as the dollar's strength hit demand.

Aluminium, which recently reached an eight-year high, suffered its biggest one-day fall for several years in the wake of Mr Greenspan's comments, analysts noted.

Copper came under pressure after expectations that US mining group Freeport would reveal increased falls in production alongside its results proved overdone.

By late Friday, three-month aluminium prices slid to US$1.728 per tonne on the London Metal Exchange from US$1,817.50 a week earlier.

Three-month copper prices fell to US$2,748 per tonne from US$2,855.

Three-month nickel prices stood at US$12,175 per tonne from US$12,750.

Three-month zinc prices rose to US$1,039 per tonne from US$1,017.50.

Three-month lead prices declined to US$720 per tonne from US$730.

Three-month tin prices climbed to US$8,750 per tonne from US$8,320.

Oil: Oil prices remained strong, helped by jitters over a shortage in petrol stocks and bomb blasts in producers Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

The market is concerned about possible shortages of petrol, during the US summer when American motorists take to the open roads for the so-called 'driving season'.

Weekly surveys by the US Department of Energy and the American Petroleum Institute, a private trade association, showed a rise in petrol stocks in the week to April 16, though not enough to lift worries about shortages later this year. 'The absolute level of gasoline inventory is low, but the situation is even more serious when the current strong level of demand is taken into account,' Barclays Capital analysts told clients.

Traders were also nervous about insurgency in oil giant Saudi Arabia, where a car bomb exploded outside the headquarters of Saudi general security services in Riyadh on Wednesday, killing five people.

Meanwhile, 68 people were killed and nearly 100 others injured in a series of car bombings outside police stations in and around the southern Iraqi city of Basra also on Wednesday.

On Friday, the price of benchmark Brent North Sea crude oil for June delivery stood at US$33.34 a barrel in London from US$33.81 a week earlier.

In New York, the reference light sweet crude June contract traded at US$36.60 against US$36.99.

Rubber: Rubber prices dipped, led by the Japanese market where prices were undermined by lacklustre demand, traders said. The strengthening dollar was a factor deterring purchases. In Osaka, the RSS 3 May contract stood at 142.50 cents on Friday against 148.20 cents a week earlier.

Singapore's RSS 3 contract for June traded at 134.00 cents from 139.25 cents the previous Friday.

Cocoa: In London, prices fell to a 2 1/2 year low of US$781 on Tuesday before clawing back.

On LIFFE, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for May delivery stood at 806 a tonne on Friday from 799 a week earlier.

On the CSCE, the New York futures market, the May contract traded at US$1,345 per tonne from US$1,352.

Coffee: In New York, prices fell to the lowest level for 3 1/2 months amid selling by investment funds and speculators, before stabilising somewhat.

On LIFFE, Robusta quality for July delivery stood at US$726 per tonne on Friday, from US$731 a week earlier.

On New York's CSCE market, Arabica for May delivery was down at 68.25 cents a pound from 69.95 cents.

Cotton: New York's July contract rose to 63.60 cents a pound on Friday from 62.36 cents a week earlier. The Cotton Outlook Index of physical cotton, the average of the world's lowest prices, was down at 69.20 cents from 67.55 cents the previous Friday.

Grains and soya: On LIFFE, wheat for May delivery stood at 97.25 a tonne on Friday against 97.00 a week earlier.

In Chicago, the price of wheat for May delivery fell to 375 cents a bushel from 388 cents.

Maize for May delivery declined to 304.00 cents a bushel from 312.50 cents.

Soyabeans for May delivery stood at 951 cents a bushel compared with 977 cents.

May-dated soyabean meal - used in animal feed - stood at US$300.50 per tonne from US$308.50.

Sugar: On LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for August delivery stood at US$229.50 on Friday from US$226.80 a week earlier.

On the CSCE in New York, a pound of unrefined sugar for May delivery traded at 6.60 cents against 6.70 cents.

Wool: Australian wool prices rose as players returned from the Easter break. A weakening of the Australian dollar against the resurgent US currency was the main factor seen boosting the market. This encouraged orders from countries using dollars, like China, which enjoyed greater purchasing power.

The Australian Eastern index climbed to A$7.79 per kilo from A$7.68 before the holiday began.

The British Wooltops index nudged up to 446 pence from 445 the previous week. - AFP