Oil hits six-month peak amid mixed week for commodities

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Oil hits six-month peak amid mixed week for commodities

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Oil rallied this week, while other commodities steadied as traders eyed Greek news.

11 February,2012 04:45 am

Oil rallied this week, with Brent hitting a six-month high on recent upbeat data, winter weather in the northern hemisphere and Iran tensions, while other commodities steadied as traders eyed Greek news.This week, the crude oil markets broke free from almost a month of range-bound trading, as a combination of improved macro data, the arrival of winter weather, new supply disruptions and amplified geopolitical tension boosted prices, said Barclays Capital analyst Sudakshina Unnikrishnan.Base metal prices have generally stabilised in early February following a very strong start to the year. For precious metals, gold and silver surrendered some of the gains made the previous week.Meanwhile, raw materials giant Glencore and mining firm Xstrata unveiled a blockbuster merger on Tuesday to create a $90-billion (69-billion-euro) powerhouse.Glencore is the worlds biggest commodities trader with mining assets in key minerals such as aluminum, copper, lead and zinc. It also has interests in coal, oil and agricultural products including cotton, sugar and wheat.Anglo-Swiss firm Xstrata is the biggest global exporter of thermal coal and also produces copper, nickel and zinc.Brent oil prices spiked on Thursday to $118.79 per barrel -- the highest level since August 1 -- as the market was propelled by ongoing tensions in key crude producer Iran and tentative hopes of a Greek debt deal.Hopes of a new bail-out package for Greece, the weaker US dollar and the ongoing supply risks due to Iran, Sudan and Nigeria are giving buoyancy to oil prices, said Commerzbank analyst Carsten Fritsch.Oil sentiment took a slight hit after the International Energy Agency and the OPEC oil producers cartel both cut their estimates for 2012 global oil demand growth.By late Friday on Londons Intercontinental Exchange, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in March jumped to $116.93 a barrel from $113.38 the previous week.On the New York Mercantile Exchange, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) or light sweet crude for March rose to $98.04 from $97.31.Gold fell, dragging most precious metals lower, as traders eyed Chinese trade data and ongoing Greek woes, and took profits after striking a two-month high the previous week.Glamorous metal gold had hit $1,763.15 an ounce on February 3, reaching the highest level since December 2, after a raft of upbeat global manufacturing data.By late Friday on the London Bullion Market, gold slid to $1,711.50 an ounce from $1,734 the previous week.Silver dipped to $33.55 an ounce from $33.93.On the London Platinum and Palladium Market, platinum firmed to $1,638 an ounce from $1,630.