World oil prices surge to ten-month high

World oil prices surged to ten-month highs last week on global supply concerns, while lead hit a new all-time peak and cocoa struck the highest point for four years owing to unrest in Ivory Coast.
OIL: The price of Brent North Sea crude oil climbed beyond 76 dollars for the first time in almost a year as traders fretted over violence in Nigeria. Brent North Sea crude for August delivery touched 76.01 dollars per barrel, a level last reached on August 11, 2006.
New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, hit 72.94 dollars - the highest level since August 25. In southern Nigeria, gunmen who kidnapped a three-year-old British girl have threatened to kill her - unless her father takes her place, her mother said on Friday, as unrest continued to blight Africa's biggest crude producer.
Prices have also found support after the US Department of Energy revealed on Thursday that American gasoline or petrol reserves were about 4.2 percent below their level at the same time last year. BNP Paribas analyst Harry Tchilinguirian said fresh violence in Nigeria has been bullish for prices because Nigerian crude has a high gasoline content.
"If you look at what is happening in the US right now, you see that gasoline inventories are relatively low, and refineries there are having trouble coming of maintenance because of unplanned outages. "So it's a low gasoline situation, and you are also removing from the market crudes which have a high gasoline content, so people are going to turn to the next alternative - and that's Brent."
The Brent oil price is just a few dollars off its record high of 78.64 dollars, struck at the start of August 2006, after a pipeline spill forced Britain's BP to close production from Prudhoe Bay, the biggest oil field in the United States. But New York crude has some ground to go before reaching its historic peak of 78.40 dollars per barrel, set in mid-July 2006, when violence erupted between Israel and Lebanon.
"What is key is the fact that you don't have that much spare crude production capacity in the system," Tchilinguirian added. "Any further geopolitical event that comes close to impacting supplies is going to push the price higher."
The United States is currently facing its peak-demand driving season, as American drivers take to the roads en masse for their holidays. Brent North Sea crude for August delivery jumped to 75.56 dollars a barrel on Friday, from 71.00 dollars a barrel a week earlier. New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in August, rallied to 72.90 dollars a barrel, from 70.25 dollars a barrel.
GOLD: The price of gold dipped. "External factors such as the future path of the euro/dollar and the geopolitical environment are likely to remain key for the gold market," Barclays Capital analysts said.
On the London Bullion Market, gold dropped to 648.75 dollars an ounce at Friday's late fixing, from 650.50 dollars a week earlier.
SILVER: Silver prices steadied after shedding almost 5.0 percent in value the previous week. Silver is both a precious and an industrial metal, used in the production of jewellery, and in the photographic and dentistry sectors. On the London Bullion Market, silver dipped to 12.40 dollars an ounce at Friday's late fixing, from 12.54 dollars a week earlier.
PALLADIUM AND PLATINUM: The sister metals had a mixed week amid the threat of strike action in key producer South Africa.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum jumped to 1,287 dollars an ounce at the late fixing Friday, from 1,273 dollars a week earlier. Palladium fell to 363 dollars an ounce, from 365 dollars.
BASE METALS: Lead prices struck a new record high and there were large gains for copper. Lead hit an all-time high of 2,887 dollars a tonne in London. "The 25 percent shortfall in Australian miner Kangara Zinc's output of lead, zinc and copper highlights the underlying reason why lead prices have spiralled," Barclays Capital analysts said.
Elsewhere, copper futures jumped 4.0 percent to reach a near two-month high of 7,876 dollars a tonne, "underpinned by a weaker dollar, continuous supply threats and declining stocks," Sucden analyst Michael Davies said. On Friday, the price of copper for delivery in three months soared to 7,816 dollars a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, from 7,520 dollars a week earlier.
Three-month aluminium prices rose to 2,791 dollars a tonne, from 2,736 dollars. Three-month nickel prices eased to 35,510 dollars a tonne, from 35,810 dollars. Three-month lead prices rocketed to 2,835 dollars a tonne, from 2,645 dollars. Three-month zinc prices jumped to 3,385.50 dollars a tonne, from 3,326 dollars. Three-month tin prices advanced to 14,100 dollars a tonne, from 13,900 dollars.
COCOA: Cocoa prices struck four-year highs in London and New York owing to unrest in major producer Ivory Coast.
"Cocoa draws support from continuous concerns over political tensions in Ivory Coast, following the recent attempt to assassinate the country's prime minister," Sucden's Davies said. "In addition, there were reports about dry conditions in parts of West Africa."
London cocoa prices surged on Friday to 1,146 pounds a tonne - last seen in late 2003. New York-traded cocoa hit 2,141 dollars a tonne - last reached in February 2003. Ivory Coast Prime Minister Guillaume Soro last week survived rocket attacks on his twin-engine Fokker jet fired by unidentified men as it landed in Bouake, the headquarters of his New Forces erstwhile rebel movement.
Four of his aides died and 10 others were injured in the attack - the latest twist in the Ivorian saga which began with a failed September 2002 uprising against President Laurent Gbagbo and sliced the nation in half.
By Friday on the Liffe, London's futures exchange, the price of cocoa for September delivery rose to 1,138 pounds a tonne, from 1,115 pounds a week earlier. On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the September contract jumped to 2,123 dollars a tonne, from to 2,056 dollars the previous Friday.
COFFEE: Coffee prices climbed, reaching close to nine-year highs in London. Prices are "still consolidating after recent record highs," Davies said. London coffee prices had surged to nine-year highs a fortnight ago amid market worries over lower exports from Vietnam, which is the world's second-biggest coffee producer after Brazil.
By Friday on the Liffe, Robusta quality for September delivery advanced to 1,890 dollars a tonne, from 1,868 dollars a tonne one week earlier. On the NYBOT, Arabica for September delivery fell to 109.70 US cents a pound, from 112.60 cents.
GRAINS AND SOYA: Maize, wheat and soya prices all advanced in Chicago. "This week has been primarily a weather-driven week," Allendale analyst Joe Victor said. By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, the price of maize for September delivery climbed to 3.405 dollars a bushel, from 3.40 dollars a week earlier. Wheat for September delivery rose to 6.04 dollars a bushel, from 5.97 dollars.
August-dated soyabean meal - used in animal feed - increased to 8.69 dollars, from 8.55 dollars. On the Liffe, the price per tonne of wheat for November delivery fell to 116.75 pounds, from 117.50 pounds.
SUGAR: Sugar prices rose. "Concerns over drought in Eastern Europe provided some support" to prices in London, Sucden's Davies said. By Friday on the Liffe, the price a tonne of white sugar for August delivery advanced to 322.10 dollars, from 320.50 dollars a week earlier. On the NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for October delivery gained to 9.70 US cents a pound, from 9.17 cents for the July contract.
RUBBER: The price of rubber fell as demand slowed amid ample supply. "July, August and September are peak production months but demand is low. Buyers from China have cut their purchases," said Robert Chai from rubber trading firm Intracom. On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board's benchmark SMR20 fell to 200.65 US cents a kilogramme, compared with 207.35 US cents last week.
WOOL: The price of wool fell slightly in major producer Australia, as the US exchange rate increased by 1.9 percent. "Although prices have come back from their peak of five weeks ago when the EMI (Eastern Index) was 10.16 Australian dollars," the Australian Wool Industry Secretariat said.
It added that all indicators were higher by about 25 percent since the start of the market's upward movement in October. The Australian wool market finished the week 0.8-percent lower on average, with the Eastern Index closing at 9.29 dollars a kilogramme.