LONDON, Sept 13: Crude oil futures slid to six-month lows below $100 this week and many other commodities fell as the dollar rallied and surveys pointed to lower demand for raw materials amid an economic slowdown.

Losses were reduced late on and some commodities even ended higher from a week earlier as the dollar gains were cut in the wake of weak US economic data released on Friday, traders said.

OIL: Oil prices tumbled under $97 a barrel on Thursday, reaching the lowest levels since early March, as the dollar struck a year-high against the euro and on concerns about falling demand for energy.

Prices fought back early on Friday after Hurricane Ike had forced the closure of energy production facilities in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a volatile week’s trade, oil futures also briefly rose after Opec had on Wednesday decided to cut the cartel’s production by more than 500,000 barrels a day.

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which produces 40 per cent of the world’s oil, cut its output to prevent a further drop in crude prices, which have tumbled since striking record highs above $147 a barrel in July.

It looks like they are willing to defend $100 (as a floor), Mike Wittner, an analyst at Society Generale, commented following the move by Opec.

The dollar had meanwhile pushed the euro below $1.39, a 12-month trough, on growing recession fears in the eurozone. A strong dollar makes dollar-priced goods, such as oil, more expensive for buyers using weaker currencies.

A series of reports underlining weakening demand were meanwhile published this week. The US Department of Energy on Tuesday lowered its forecasts for 2009 global crude oil demand.

Then on Wednesday the DoE, in its weekly report on US energy stockpiles, said that demand for petroleum products in the United States, the world’s largest consumer of crude oil, continued to fall and was now 3.8 per cent below its level a year ago.

Gasoline (petrol) consumption declined 2.1 per cent on a 12-month basis, a sharper decline than in previous weeks, while prices at the pump were far below their July peaks, the DoE said.

The International Energy Agency on Wednesday cut its estimate for demand growth this year by 100,000 barrels per day and for 2009 by 140,000 bpd.

Crude futures rebounded on Friday also after Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez threatened to halt the supply of oil to the United States, its main client, if Washington showed “aggression” towards his country.

The threat came after Chavez had announced Thursday that US ambassador to Venezuela, Patrick Duddy, had 72 hours to leave the country.

Venezuela’s order to expel Duddy was an act of “solidarity” with Bolivia, which expelled its US envoy Philip Goldberg on Wednesday after accusing him of encouraging a break-up of Bolivia through support of opposition groups.

Deadly clashes in Bolivia have stoked fears of further widespread unrest and possibly even civil war.

By Friday, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for delivery in October, was trading at $102.67 a barrel, down from $106.93 a week earlier.

Brent North Sea crude for October fell to $99.33 a barrel from $105.33.

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold prices dropped back under $800 an ounce, striking the lowest point for almost one year, as the dollar strengthened.

Gold had Wednesday tumbled to $736.70, a level last seen in October 2007.

The dollar’s ongoing recovery put further pressure on the precious metals Thursday with gold declining to an 11-month low while silver tumbled to its lowest since June 2006,” said James Moore at the bulliondesk.com.

Platinum unravelled to a 20-month low and palladium reached a trough not seen for almost three years.

On the London Bullion Market, gold slumped to $750.25 per ounce at Friday’s late fixing from $808.50 a week earlier.

Silver fell to $12.52 per ounce from $12.72.

On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum slid to $1,187 per ounce at the late fixing on Friday from $1,387.

Palladium dropped to $241 per ounce from $277.

BASE METALS: Base metals prices fell for most of the week but some managed a late rally as the dollar lost some of its spark as US retail sales data disappointed.

We would view the price recovery as fragile and tenuous as sentiment remains weak,” said analysts at Barclays Capital.

Base Metals analyst William Adams added: This weakness is not confined to the base metals, all markets seem to be waking up to the fact that the global economy faces a slowdown. By Friday, copper for delivery in three months rebounded to $7,075 per ton on the London Metal Exchange from $6,889 a week earlier.

Three-month aluminium rose to $2,639 per ton from $2,595.

Three-month lead fell to $1,895 per ton from $1,936.

Three-month zinc climbed to $1,824 per ton from $1,780.

Three-month tin dropped to $19,150 per ton from $19,425.

Three-month nickel declined to $18,600 per ton from $20,226.

COFFEE: Coffee prices extended losses amid abundant supplies in Brazil.

By Friday on LIFFE, London’s futures exchange, Robusta for November delivery fell to $2,154 per ton from $2,212 a week earlier.

On the New York Board of Trade (NYBOT), Arabica for December delivery dropped to 139.20 US cents per pound from 147 cents.

COCOA: Cocoa prices also fell further.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price of cocoa for December slid to 1,498 pounds per ton from 1,544 pounds a week earlier.

On the NYBOT, the December cocoa contract declined to $2,569 per ton from $2,645.

SUGAR: Sugar prices hit seven-week lows as oil prices continued to fall and as Brazil announced a large rise is sugar cane production.

Sugar is used in the production of ethanol, a cheaper alternative to motor fuel which is refined from crude oil. When crude futures fall, demand for ethanol also wanes.

By Friday on LIFFE, the price per ton of white sugar for December delivery slipped to 384.70 pounds from 388.60 pounds the previous week.

On NYBOT, the price of unrefined sugar for October delivery decreased to 12.43 US cents per pound from 12.77 cents.—AFP