A summary of trading in key commodities markets overseas:
ENERGY
World oil prices slumped on Friday after the United States reported that job creation ground to a halt in August, a stark sign of trouble in the world’s largest economy.
New York’s main contract, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for delivery in October, dropped $US2.48 to close at $US86.45 a barrel.
In London, Brent North Sea crude for delivery in October fell $US1.96 to settle at $US112.33 a barrelon the IntercontinentalExchange.
Prices took a nosedive after a government report showed that the US economy added no jobs in August, leaving the unemployment rate at 9.1 per cent and stoking fears of a double-dip recession.
Traders were also monitoring a storm in the Gulf of Mexico that threatened to disrupt oil supplies in the southern United States, which could temporarily push up prices.
Energy majors including BP, ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell were evacuating workers from their offshore rigs in the Gulf of Mexico ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Lee.
About 48 per cent of production in the Gulf of Mexico, or more than 666,000 barrels of oil per day, was already shut-in because of the evacuations, the US Department of the Interior estimated on Friday.
In total, personnel had been evacuated from 169 out of a total of 617 manned oil-production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, the department said.
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold surged nearly three per cent, hitting its highest level since last week’s record, as investors sought refuge in safe haven assets following a bleak US employment report.
By 3.23 pm EDT (0523 AEST) , spot gold was up $US57.25, or 3.1 per cent, at $US1,881.69 ($A1,756.62) per ounce. It earlier rose to a high of $US1,879.30, its highest level since reaching its record at $US1,911.46 on August 23.
Benchmark US gold December futures on the COMEX exchange finished 2.6 per cent, or $US47.8 higher, at $US1,876.90 an ounce. It rose as high as $US1,887.40, also its highest since its August 23 record at $US1,917.90.
Gold had notched up a sizable portion of the day’s gain prior to the data, with traders having braced for yet another downbeat report ahead of the long Labor Day holiday. Trading volume picked up slightly from a week of subdued activity.
Along with gold, the rush to hold safe assets set off a rally in US Treasury securities and the US dollar dropped against the Swiss franc and yen.
Gold had already risen about two per cent in overnight trade in anticipation of the US labour market readings and on growing worries about Greece’s ability to meet its deficit targets.
In the latest twist in Greece’s sovereign debt saga, talks between Athens and international inspectors on whether it has met conditions for a new aid tranche were put on hold.
Disagreements over why and by how much its deficit cuts program has fallen behind schedule stalled discussions.
Spot silver tracked gold to jump 4.65 per cent to $US43.34 an ounce by late afternoon, following a 3.2 per cent drop in the previous week.
Bolivia, the world’s sixth-largest silver producing country by output in 2010, plans to raise mining royalties to take advantage of high prices and bolster the state’s role in the industry.
Elsewhere, spot platinum rose to $US1,879.49 an ounce from $US1,843.85 in late Thursday business, while spot palladium slipped to $US773 an ounce from $US779.35 previously.
BASE METALS
Copper fell after the poor US jobs data for August fuelled concerns about the health of the world’s top economy while the threat of kinks in a constrained supply pipeline provided a floor for prices.
Benchmark copper on the London Metal Exchange closed at $US9,076 ($A8,472.74) a tonne, down 0.8 per cent from a close at $US9,148 per tonne on Thursday.
It earlier reached its lowest in four sessions at $US9,018 a tonne and remains more than 10 per cent below record highs from February.
In New York, the key December COMEX copper contract fell 3.60 US cents or 0.87 per cent to conclude at $US4.1245 a lb.
Aluminium closed at $US2,436 from $US2,455.
Tin ended at $24,250, little changed from $US24,245 while zinc, used to galvanize steel finished at $US2,195 from $US2,239 at Thursday’s close.
Battery material lead shed 3.5 per cent to $US2,460 from $US2,550 as LME stocks continued to rise, raising questions over demand. Meanwhile, nickel finished at $US21,500 from $US21,750.
