LONDON, Nov 2: Commodity prices diverged this week as traders reacted to supply and demand movements in key consumers the US and China, and assessed the outlook for the Federal Reserve’s stimulus programme.

The US Federal Reserve’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday kept its stimulus programme unchanged but gave a rosier than expected summary of the economy, fuelling expectations it will soon start winding the measure down.

While the central bank’s decision to keep the $85 billion-a-month scheme in place was widely expected, the upbeat outlook provided strong support for the dollar. This made dollar-priced commodities more expensive for holders of rival currencies, hurting demand and in turn putting downward pressure on prices.

Oil: New York crude fell owing to large stockpiles in the United States, while Brent futures rose thanks to Libyan supply strains and strong manufacturing output in China, analysts said.Sucden brokers analyst Kash Kamal said “traders and investors continued to analyse higher-than-expected crude oil inventories in the US”. Analysts at Commerzbank noted that Brent, a reference for Middle East crude, was supported by “ongoing supply outages in Libya”.

By Friday on London's Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December jumped to $108.63 a barrel from $106.62 a week earlier.

On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate or light sweet crude for December slipped to $96.23 a barrel from $97.54.

Precious metals: Gold prices fell in the wake of the Federal Reserve meeting.

“Following publication of the statement after the FOMC meeting, the US dollar appreciated against the euro, thus weighing on precious metal prices,” said analysts at Commerzbank.

“Clearly, some market players expect the Federal Reserve to scale back its bond purchases in the near future.” “That said, the Fed made virtually no changes to its statement that would justify this expectation. Our economists still believe that the Fed will announce a reduction in its bond purchasing programme in March/April” next year, they added in a client note.

By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, the price of gold dropped to $1,306.75 an ounce from $1,347.50 a week earlier.

Silver fell to $21.75 an ounce from $22.35. On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum gained to $1,453 an ounce from $1,440. Palladium edged up to $737 an ounce from $733.

Base metals: Industrial metals rose week-on-week thanks to strong Chinese manufacturing data published on Friday. “The better-than-expected China official figure gives the metals market a boost on the first day of November,” said Richard Fu, director of Asian commodities trading at brokers Newedge.

By Friday on the London Metal Exchange, copper for delivery in three months rose to $7,289.25 a tonne from $7,134 a week earlier.

Coffee: Futures hit fresh multi-year lows on expectations of large harvests.

Arabica on Friday reached 104.85 US cents a pound, the lowest level for nearly three and a half years, while Robusta slumped to $1,455 a tonne, a trough last reached more than four and a half years ago.

Macquarie financial group analyst Kona Haque said “flowering for the new season Brazilian crop bodes very well for next year's crop and Colombia's coffee crop is progressing extremely well”.

By Friday on the ICE Futures US exchange in New York, Arabica for delivery in December had fallen to 105.05 US cents a pound from 110.60 cents a week earlier. On LIFFE, London's futures exchange, Robusta for January sank to $1,457 a tonne from $1,582 a week earlier.

Sugar: Prices fell further after striking a one-year peak in October following a fire at a key terminal in top producer Brazil. By Friday on the ICE Futures US exchange, the price of unrefined sugar for delivery in March 2014 dropped to 18.34 US cents a pound from 18.89 cents a week earlier.

On LIFFE, the price of a tonne of white sugar for March -- the week's most traded contract -- slipped to $488 from $501.50 for the December contract a week earlier.

Cocoa: Prices retreated further after reaching two-year highs in October on robust demand.

Grains and soya: Futures fell, with maize touching a three-year low as high supplies offset strong US exports, traders said.

By Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade, November-dated soyabean meal — used in animal feed — dropped to $12.76 a bushel from $13.00 a week earlier. Maize for delivery in December slid to $4.26 a bushel from $4.40. Wheat for December declined to $6.69 a bushel from $6.90.

Rubber: Prices fell as rises to Malaysia's currency, the ringgit, hit demand, traders said. The Malaysian Rubber Board's benchmark SMR20 fell to 226.35 US cents a kilo from 234.95 cents the previous week. —AFP