LONDON, Dec 13: Oil prices rebound while aluminium and copper futures hit fresh multi-year lows in a week of volatile trading for commodities.

OIL: Oil prices rallied sharply as Russia said it would join Opec in likely cutting crude production.

Oil surged more than 10 per cent on Thursday, on the back of a weaker dollar and amidst further talk of production cuts at next week’s Opec meeting, said Nimit Khamar, oil market analyst at Sucden brokers.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) is widely expected to announce a cut in production at a meeting in Algeria on Wednesday in a bid to bolster prices that have plunged from record highs above $147 in July.

Opec, which pumps 40 per cent of world crude, has called on non-members to play a role in reducing output to stem the sharp slide in crude prices of the last five months.

Russia on Thursday appeared to heed the calls, saying it was ready to join forces with Opec to stem the plunge in prices and could even become part of the oil cartel if membership were in Moscow’s interests.

Russia ranks alongside Saudi Arabia, de facto leader of Opec, as the world’s largest oil exporter.

Also on Thursday, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) forecast that global oil demand would fall this year for the first time since 1983 owing to a worldwide economic slowdown.

Oil prices had a week ago plunged below $40 to their lowest levels in nearly four years as worse-than-expected jobs data in the United States raised the prospect of severe falls in energy demand.

But they bounced back this week, also boosted by a weaker dollar which can make dollar-priced commodities such as oil cheaper for buyers holding other currencies.

Prices began 2008 by vaulting above $100 for the first time, lifted by strong energy demand from emerging economic powers China and India and by political unrest in major crude exporters Iran and Nigeria.

By Friday on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX), light sweet crude for delivery in January jumped to 44.51 dollars from $42.32 .

On London’s InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for January rallied to $44.49 from $40.06 a week earlier.

PRECIOUS METALS: The prices of gold, silver, platinum and palladium rebounded as the dollar weakened.

Gold was boosted by a treble whammy of bearish dollar sentiment, near flat treasury (bond) yields and ongoing demand for safe-haven asset types, said James Moore, an analyst at thebulliondesk.com.

On the London Bullion Market, gold rose to $826.50 an ounce at Friday’s late fixing from $749 a week earlier.

Silver increased to $10.07 an ounce from $9.46 .

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum gained to $801 an ounce at the late fixing on Friday from $788 a week earlier.

Palladium climbed to $172 an ounce from $164.

BASE METALS: Base metals prices ended the week mixed after copper and aluminium struck fresh multi-year lows amid faltering demand for raw materials.

Copper on Friday dropped under $3,000 a ton to 2,981 -- the lowest level since May 2005. It later recovered to finish the week higher as bargain hunters swept up cheap deals.

Also on Friday, aluminium struck a five-year low of $1,465 a ton.

“News that the US bailout of automotive majors had failed sent shivers through the base metals,” said analysts at Barclays Capital.

Given the importance of the transportation industry for metals consumption... this news not only dented general sentiment but also exacerbated demand concerns. The US Treasury said Friday it is ready to avert the collapse of the Big Three US automakers until Congress can address their problems.

A $14-billion auto bailout effort collapsed in the US Senate late Thursday.

By Friday, copper for delivery in three months rose to $3,150 a ton on the London Metal Exchange from $3,025 a week earlier.

Three-month aluminium dipped to $1,511 a ton from $1,513 .

Three-month lead increased to $980 a ton from $928.

Three-month zinc eased to $1,060 a ton from $1,080 .

Three-month tin gained to $11,501 a ton from $11,475.

Three-month nickel climbed to $10,208 a ton from $9,100.

COCOA: Cocoa futures rallied. Prices are being supported once more by dollar weakness, said Sucden analyst Stephanie Garner.

By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, the price of cocoa for delivery in March jumped to 1,620 pounds a ton from 1,488 pounds a week earlier.

On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), the March cocoa contract increased to $2,380 a ton from $2,146 .

COFFEE: Coffee prices rebounded. By Friday on LIFFE, Robusta for delivery in March surged to $1,900 a ton from $1,558 a week earlier.

On the NYBOT, Arabica for March climbed to 112 US cents a pound from 102.45 cents.

SUGAR: Sugar prices rebounded back above 300 pounds a ton in London.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for delivery in March recovered to 319.40 pounds from 294.50 pounds the previous week.

On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for March grew to 11.72 US cents per pound from 10.55 cents.

GRAINS AND SOYA: Grains and soya prices rebounded. By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, maize for delivery in March jumped to $3.47 a bushel from 3.09 dollars the previous week.

March-dated soyabean meal -- used in animal feed -- advanced to $8.40 from $7.87 .

Wheat for March increased to $4.96 a bushel from $4.76.

RUBBER: Malaysian rubber prices fell owing to a lack of demand, dealers said.

On Friday, the Malaysian Rubber Board’s benchmark SMR20 slumped to 111.75 US cents per kilo from 153.25 US cents per kilo a week ago.—AFP