Commodities win boost from US jobs data
Oil prices soared above 82 dollars this week as traders took their cue from better-than-expected US jobs data, firmer stock markets and the latest newsflow on the Greek debt crisis.
On Friday, data showed that the US economy, a major consumer of raw materials, lost 36,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate held at 9.7 percent.
The report was better than expected by most economists, who had forecast 67,000 nonfarm job losses and a 9.8 percent unemployment rate.Prices rose following last Saturday's powerful 8.8 magnitude quake in Chile, the world's largest copper producing country, which left about 800 people dead.
Three-month aluminium jumped to 2,258 dollars a tonne from 2,095 dollars. Lead increased to 2,260 dollars a tonne from 2,160 dollars. Tin advanced to 17,524 dollars a tonne from 16,740 dollars. Zinc climbed to 2,356 dollars a tonne from 2,162 dollars. Nickel soared to 22,750 dollars a tonne from 20,687 dollars.
By Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold rose to 1,135 dollars an ounce from 1,108.25 dollars the previous week. Silver climbed to 17.25 dollars an ounce from 16.12 dollars.
On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum advanced to 1,578 dollars an ounce from 1,533 dollars.Palladium rose to 466 dollars an ounce from 430 dollars.
By Friday on the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the price of unrefined sugar for delivery in May slid to 21.79 US cents a pound compared with 23.46 cents the previous week. On London's futures exchange, the price of a tonne of white sugar for May sank to 600 pounds from 662.60 pounds.
By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in May edged down to 3.83 dollars a bushel from 3.89 dollars the previous week.
May-dated soyabean meal -- used in animal feed -- fell to 9.44 dollars from 9.61 dollars.
Wheat for May was down to 5.01 dollars a bushel from 5.19 dollars.
On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board's benchmark SMR20 rose to 313.25 US cents a kilo from 309.70 cents on February 25.
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