LONDON, Aug 23: Oil and most metals prices rebounded this week as investors sought a safe haven owing to a weaker dollar, struggling stock markets and global supply tensions.

Thursday saw a big bounce across the commodity spectrum as the dollar weakened and oil experienced a massive ... rally, said UBS analyst John Reade.

OIL: Oil prices jumped back above $122 per barrel on the back of simmering geopolitical tensions between the United States and Russia, a weak dollar and a large drop in US motor fuel reserves.

New York crude oil hit to 122.04 dollars in Thursday trading, a level last seen in early August before slipping back Friday.

Mounting geopolitical tension between the US and Russia continues to raise market concerns, said Barclays Capital analyst Michael Zenker.

Perhaps most importantly of all though, the supply of fundamental data continues to support the view of continued tightness in oil market fundamentals, underpinning prices, he added.

Russia, the world’s biggest producer of crude oil after recently overtaking Saudi Arabia, had completed its pullback of troops in Georgia, Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Friday.

However the United States accused Russia of failing to abide by a ceasefire.

Oil prices had got a boost Wednesday and Thursday after figures showed US gasoline (petrol) reserves slumped 6.2 million barrels last week, compared with market expectations for a drop of only 2.4 million barrels.

Gasoline stocks are closely watched at this time of year as American motorists are on the highways for their summer vacations, typically pushing up demand for motor fuel. Brent North Sea crude for October climbed to $118.51 from $111.12.

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices rebounded above $800 an ounce.

The gains again prove gold’s role as a hedge against inflation as well as periods of economic unrest and geopolitical tension, said Bullion Desk analyst James Moore.

On the London Bullion Market, gold rose to $824 per ounce at Friday’s late fixing from $786.50 a week earlier.

Silver increased to $13.62 per ounce from $12.82.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum advanced to $1,427 per ounce at the late fixing on Friday from $1,400. Palladium slipped to $288 per ounce from $295 on profit-taking.

BASE METALS: Base metals recovered in line with precious metals and oil.

The strength in oil and the weakness in the dollar gave the spark that was needed for all the base metals to undergo a jump in prices, said Reade of UBS.

By Friday, copper for delivery in three months rose to $7,710 per ton on the London Metal Exchange from $7,310 a week earlier.

COFFEE: Coffee prices rebounded in London and New York.

Solid performance from New York was the driving force in the (London) market ... as funds were noted buyers, said Ralph Hawes, an analyst at the Sucden brokerage.

By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, Robusta for November delivery rallied to $2,303 per ton from $2,210 a week earlier.

On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), Arabica for December delivery rose to 143.15 US cents per pound from 134.45 cents.

COCOA: Cocoa prices advanced strongly. Ivory Coast cocoa exporters have warned that a government crackdown on corruption in the cocoa sector has crippled the state marketing board and may disrupt operations in the forthcoming main crop season, noted the Public Ledger commodities review.

SUGAR: Sugar prices rose this week.

Sugar also rose strongly, (...) with the rise in crude oil prices providing strong support, said analysts at Barclays Capital.

Sugar is used in the production of ethanol, a cheaper alternative to motor fuel that is refined from crude oil.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price per ton of white sugar for October delivery improved to 401.20 pounds from 381.80 pounds the previous week. On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for October delivery increased to 13.91 US cents per pound from 13.13 cents.

GRAINS AND SOYA: Grains and soya prices rose further as the market tracked weather developments in the US Midwest.

By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for December delivery was higher at 6.07 dollars per bushel from $5.50 the previous week.

November-dated soyabean meal -- used in animal feed -- rose to 13.31 dollars from $12.24.

Wheat for December delivery firmed to 9.09 dollars per bushel from $8.49.

RUBBER: Malaysian rubber prices extended losses despite the gains in oil prices late in the week.

On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s benchmark SMR20 fell to 284.80 US cents per kilogramme (2.2 pounds) from 287.65 US cents a week ago.—AFP