Metal prices, on the whole, were stronger last week despite the surge in interest rates at the start of the week and then the fall and the sell-off in equities.
Oil prices fell though with both the Brent and West Texas contracts losing ground.
Friday saw November West Texas Intermediate crude futures rise 10 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $US71.07 a barrel in New York.
Brent crude for December delivery lost 49 cents, or 0.6%, at $US79.77 a barrel, to post a weekly decline of around 4.4%. WTI lost around 4%.
Data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of rigs actively looking for oil in the US rose for the first time in a month, jumping by 8 to 869. That followed three straight weeks of declines and was the largest weekly increase since the week ended August 10.
US crude stocks rose by 6 million barrels last week which was more than the market was expecting.
Iron ore prices in China stood out, despite continuing fears about the health of the country’s economy.
In fact, iron ore prices climbed above $US70 a tonne last week for the first time in more than six months, closing at $US71.67 a tonne delivered to northern China, according to the Metal Bulletin’s 62% iron ore index.
That was up 37 US cents a tonne from Thursday and from $69.24 a tonne two weeks earlier in late September (Chinese markets were closed at the end of September and early October for a week-long holiday). That was a rise of 3.2%.
Chinese iron ore imports leaped to more than 93 million tonnes in September (see separate story), one of the highest monthly totals on record (though well down on the 106 million tonnes imported in September 2017).
In New York Comex gold prices ended lower on Friday, pulling back from their highest level in more than two months as US and global stock markets wobbled higher after the intense selling on Wednesday and Thursday.
December gold dropped $US5.60, or nearly 0.5%, to settle at $US1,222 an ounce, a day after its highest finish since August 1, for a most-active contract, according to figures from financial data group, FactSet.
Comex December silver rose 2.9 cents, or 0.2%, to $US14.635 an ounce, following a 2% gain on Thursday.
For the week, gold climbed 1.4% — its second weekly rise in a row, while silver ended the week 0.1% lower.
Comex copper rose 2% over the week to end at $US2.815.
In London Reuters reported that LME aluminum rebounded on Friday, ending a six-session losing streak.
Aluminum hit a 3-1/2-month peak of $US2,267 on October 4 due to fears of alumina shortages, but when those worries subsided, prices slid 11%, hitting a low of $US2,017.50 on Thursday.
London Metal Exchange three-month aluminum closed up 1% at $US2,041 a tonne. Prices fell 4.5% this week, extending 2018’s slide to 12%.
LME copper prices were rose after data showed China’s copper imports surged to their highest in 2-1/2 years in September, while copper concentrate imports climbed to an all-time high (see separate story).
Three-month LME copper rose 1% to finish at $US6,302 a tonne to be up nearly 2% for the week. LME zinc prices rose 1.5% to end at $US2,645 a tonne, lead rose 2.6% on Friday to end at $US2,051.20 a tonne and nickel eased 0.2% to $US12,655 a tonne.
