Crude oil fell last week despite the prices rose Friday as the U.S. dollar snapped a three-day rally, bolstering the appeal of commodities. In general, supply concerns persisted in Iran and Nigeria continued to pressure the prices.
Iran, second- largest Middle East producer, may have to be forcibly
prevented from acquiring nuclear technology, an Israeli general said.
In Nigeria, militants threatened to attack major oil pipelines in
response to claims they took payouts from the government.
Iran,
which produced about 3.85 million barrels of oil a day last month, has
warned it may blockade the Strait of Hormuz, the export channel for a
quarter of the world's crude, if it's attacked. The country has the
second-biggest proved oil reserves and is the second-biggest producer
in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
The
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, a Nigerian militant
group, threatened on July 23 to attack a pipeline that feeds two of the
country's four refineries. The group, also known as MEND, disputed
claims by Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. head Abubakar Yar'Adua in
Nigerian newspapers that it took millions of dollars in payouts for
allowing repairs to the Chanomi pipeline. The pipeline was attacked in
February 2006 and repairs were completed earlier this year. The
country's main blue-collar oil workers' union will hold off on resuming
a strike over rising fuel costs before planned talks with government
officials set for July 29, the group's president said today.
Crude
oil for September delivery closed at $126.51 a barrel, down 1.8% for
the week. Futures are up 66% from a year ago. Brent crude oil for
September settlement settled on $127.51 a barrel or 2.1% weekly
decline.
Gold slipped 3.8% last week to $921.15 a troy ounce. Platinum rose Friday, but failed to close the week higher.
Friday platinum capped the longest slump since 1997, on speculation
that demand will rise in China after futures plunged 17% this month.
Platinum settled at $1,758.70 an ounce after falling for nine straight
sessions, the longest slide since December 1997. The metal fell 5.2%
for the week, after a 9.4% decline week earlier. The metal fell 15%
this month. Platinum futures still have gained 15% this year, after a
33% rise in 2007. The metal rose 36% from January through June.
Platinum reached a record $2,308.80 on March 4, partly because of
output cuts caused by power shortages in South Africa, the world's
biggest producer of the metal
Copper declined
0.8% to $7,938 a ton amid LME-monitored copper stockpiles jumped 2,600
tons, or 2%, to 133,475 tons, the highest since March 7. They have
increased 8.9% this month. Nickel ended the week with its biggest decline in four months as
stainless-steel mills, the biggest users of the metal, said demand is
weakening. Jinchuan Group Co., Asia's biggest nickel producer, cut
prices by 11% from Friday. Acerinox SA, the world's largest
stainless-steel producer, and Finland's Outukumpu Oyj said this week
that orders from construction slowed. The contract fell around 10% to
$18,240 a metric ton, the lowest intraday price since June 15, 2006.
Nickel has fallen 30% this year. Among other metals, aluminum declined
to $2,950.25 a ton and zinc fell to $1,825.