LONDON. June 5: Most commodities fluctuated during the week on US investment fund speculation, reports AFP.

Precious metals began the week higher on speculative buying which then dried up. provoking falls in gold, silver and platinum. Coffee, vegetable oils, sugar, grains and cotton all followed a similar path.

Cocoa, however, rose steadily on continued Interest among investors but the base metals fell steadily.

Nickel weakened, after recent highs, on news that workers at Canadian Group Inco's Factory at Sudbury. Ontario, had succeeded In negotiating a new labour contract, averting a strike.

GOLD: Higher, then lower. London prices began the week at a high level. Lifting above 387.5 dollars per ounce on Tuesday, rising on the back of the New York market, before falling to around 383 dollars as investment funds withdrew.

Dealers said the market was wary, and that with the period of lower interest rates in Europe coming to an end. any rise in interest rates would see the central banks attract speculative capital and hence cause commodities prices to fall.

Elsewhere. Russian production. the second largest In the world, could reach 157 tonnes In 1994 compared to 149.5 tonnes last year and 146.1 In 1992. said Yevgeny Bychkov, a member of the National Committee for Precious Metals.

SILVER: Higher, then lower. The price of silver began the week higher, reaching a height on Wednesday at 5.6 dollars per ounce on speculative buying. But then fell on the back of gold prices to end at around 5.4 dollars.

PLATINUM: Higher, then lower. Like gold and silver, platinum rose and fell during the week for speculative and

technical reasons. It soared above 400 dollars on Wednesday. but was then lower at 396 dollars at the end of the week.

Analyst Rhona O'Connell said in a recent report that the price of platinum should rise sharply in the next 18 months to stabilise at between 450 and 500 dollars per ounce.

COPPER: Lower. Copper fell around 50 dollars during the week to about 2.200 dollars per tonne, generally pulling the rest of the complex with it. Markets were shut on Monday for a bank holiday.

The metal reacted little to news of a strike at Noranda's Gaspe Mine In Canada on Monday. Where there are no new meeting planned between workers ahd the union.

The mine produces 25.000 tonnes of copper per year, but the cut is not expected to affect the market until next year. ■ Analyst Karen Norton from Billiton Enthoven said the metal was still underpinned by strong demand in the US. patchy demahd in Europe, and large falls in stocks.

Elsewhere, dealers said that before buying more copper, investors would look for stronger signals that consumption in the lagging regions of Western Europe and Japan and turned the corner.

They added that demand for copper imports In China remained difficult (o guage. owning to recent reports that as much as 50.000 tonnes of copper may be held in duty-free ports.

Weekly stocks on the LME fell 4,250 tonnes to 382.750 tonnes.

LEAD: Slightly lower. Prices dropped around five dollars during the week, after rising on Monday, to end around 514 dollars per tonne as the metal generally followed copper and nickel in quiet trading.

Elsewhere, Canadian firm

Comlnco closed its magmont lead and zine mine at Bixby in Manitoba, as supply of the metals diminished. Last year, the mine produced 27.800 tonnes of concentrated lead.

Weekly stocks on the LME rose 2.550 tonnes to a record 352.575 tonnes.

ZINC: Slightly lower. Zinc fell around 10 dollars during the week to around 976 dol- . lars per tonne.

Analysts said since exports from China, Russia and North , Korea contlhued to weigh on the world market and contribute to a surplus which will only be lightly dented by the decision by Germany's met-allgesellschaft to cut output.

Price rose last Friday after news that the company would curb output at its Ruhr-Zink Datteln . Zinc smelter from 200.000 to 90.000 tonnes per year.

"It (the cut) will make itself felt, but will not redress the market imbalance," said an industry source.

Elsewhere, the international lead and zinc study group predicted another large surplus this year, though this would be ■- inewhat lower than the 500,0: 0 tonnes estimated for 1993, i source close to the inter-gov nmental organisation said.

Analysts said many more cuts are needed to restore the world market to health.

Weekly stocks on the LME rose 9.500 tonnes to a record 1,179.175 tomes.

ALUMINIUM: Lower. Aluminium fell during the week by around 20 dollars, to a Friday figure of around 1.345 dollars per tonne.

■ During the week, the metal fell with nickel and copper was speculative funds ebbed, but lifted on Friday as lower slocks boosted the price.

Duri the week, it Ignored projections from Billiton

Enthoven metals that, for the first time in several years, fall In the daily operating rate of aluminium smelters would not be offset by start-up of news capacity.

International Primary Aluminium Institute figures, which showed a fall in the daily rate to 39.900 tonnes In' April compared to 39.900 In March and 41.500 for the three previous months, were indicative of the impact of production cuts, analysts said.

Billiton has already estimated that cutbacks over the last- eight months or so would lead to a decline in output of around one million tonnes in the West this year.

This assumes a continued fall In the dally rate and that existing mothballed smelters remaining dormant.

NICKEL: Lower. Nickel fell around 300 dollars to end the week at around 6.100 dollars per tonne.

Dealers said the fact that a strike had been adverted at, Canadian producer Inco's Sudbury. Ontario, division did little to hearten commodity market concerns about over-supply.

Inco Unions ratified a new three-year collective, agreement with management, averting a strike at the ft st minute, after the previous Jour contract expired on M y 31.

Of the 4,060 irkers that voted on the o .cr. 78 per cent, or 3,161 employees, were in f ur of the new contact. a in ■ m spokesman said. The division employs nearly 5.000.

Under the new agreement, the pension for a worker with 30 years of service will rise to 2.300 Canadian dollars per month from 2.000. effective Immediately.

Nickel prices, which surged above 6,700 dollars per tonne last week on speculation of a strike, are expected to fall

back until demand picks up enough to start denting inventories.

Weekly stocks rose 798 tonnes to 132.702 tonnes.

TIN: Lower. .nded the week 100 di .urs lower, at around 5.565 dollars per tonne, as.the metal generally followed the movements of the complex, which was led this by nickel and copper.

News that Germany's Meta-llgesellschaft AG is to close it? Duisburg tin smelter, an operational facility of "Berzelius" Stolberg GMBH and Co. had little effpet on prices.

Elsewhere, the Japan Mining Industry Association said the country’s demand for tin totalled 218 tonnes tn February, down 6.8 per cent from a year earlier.

COCOA: Higher. For the first time since December, the price of cocoa remained above 11000 pounds per tonne during the week, sustained by speculative interest.

Trade house GNI said the price of cocoa was likely to jlse In the coming weeks as the market is expected to react to a cut in supply.

Elsewhere, the British pressure group world development movement crdculated that a one-pound bar of chocolate bought brought Only 0.08 pounds to the producer compared with 0.16 pounds In taxes to the British government.

COFFEE: Nervous. The price of Roubusta fluctuated as dealers bought and sold speculatively. The price rose sharply on Tuesday In the wake of rises in New York, but fell back on profit-taking.

Prices remained above 2.000 dollars per tonne and dealers said they fluctuated less towards the end of the week as speculation diinin Ished and Industrial buying picked up. particularly for the

roasters.

French trade sources said coffee futures prices should rise slightly this summer — but by autumn are expected to rise by a hefty 17 to 20 per cent.

SUGAR: Firm. The price of white sugar remained firm, lifting .over . 328 dollars per tonne, on speculative interest as the market was seen as promising.

Price also rose on rumours of buying from Egypt. China and India on the US market. GNI Trade House, quoting a US officials, said that India could import 1.2 million tonnes before November to satisfy internal demand.

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that for 1994-1995 (October to September) world production would total 116.3 million tonnes — representing a 3.6 per cent rise on the previous season. The USDA also predicted.

Bigger harvests for Cuba. Brazil. Thailand and India.

World consumption should reach around 116.1 million tonnes in 1994-1995 compared with 114.9 million during the previous season. Exports are predicted to be around 29.47 million tonnes In 1994-1995.

VEGETABLE OILS: Generally higher. The price of vegetable oils rose on the Rotterdam market In the wake on higher soya prices on the Chicago market at the beginning of the week, caused by drought in the US production zones.

The price of soya oil rose, as did sunflower oil. lifting to levels reached several weeks ago. Chinese imports of soya oil have Jumped since the beginning of the year (January-May) rising 10 per cent on the previous year.

The price of palm oil also rise, as Malaysian exports dropped 40.000 tonnes In May

to around 403.946.

OIL: Stable. The price of brent crude North Sea Oil varied little during the week, shortened by a British bank holiday on Monday, trading around 16.40 dollars on the international petroleum exchange — the London Market.

Prices, however, ended the week higher; after encouraging US stocks figures from the American Petroleum Institute. The figures showed crude oil stocks dropped 2.88 million barrels in one week to 333,160 million barrels — 19.06 million barrels less than the previous year.

RUBBER: Higher. Price rose to around 725 pounds per tonne on speculative buying and on purchases of Indonesian rubber by China.

Andrew Trevatt. analyst with Landeil Mill, said the Chinese had recently decided t^ stop buying latex rubber from Thailand and to buy from Indonesia instead, as It is ^^ted prices would not rise particularly steeply at the moment, and having reached a peak, would probably faH In the coming weeks.

GRAINS: Stable. The price of wheat remained stable at a relatively high level, little affected by current nervousness in the US. as dealers described the European market as calm.

Prices on the other side of the Atlantic have climbed and fallen as meteorological forecasts predicted first of all a drought, then heavy rains in the US producing regions.

The European market continues to benefit from a restriction In supply According to the latest statistics. European stocks were revealed to be much lower than predicted, with only 20 million tonnes compared with 29 million tonnes last year at the same Un?lsewhere. the Russian Deputy Agriculture Minister repeated that the country wanted to reduce its grain imports. despite a drop in production.

TEA: Firm. The average auction price of tea rose above 126 pence per kilo while top quality tea remained at a high level, benefittlng from strong demand as production declines.

The civil war in Rwanda is expected to result in an extreme cut in exports — the dountry produces the best teas In -the world. The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) said production was not expected to exceed 5.000 tonnes as against 13.000 tonnes In 1992.

Kenya, the other country which produces high quality teas, has seen production diminish toward the end of the year because of drought.

Although high quality teas are higher, the price of medium and low quality teas is expected to remain at a low level for the months, or even years to come, said analyst Tony Kane from Wilson Smithett.

COTTON: Higher. The price of cotton lifted following recent rise on the US futures market, as Investment funds speculated on what is perceived as a stable crop with a diminishing supply.

Dealers said that European trading was limited while the Liverpool market was closed on Monday on a national holiday In Britain

Pakistani Importers estimated that they had bought less than 130.000 tonnes of cotton since the beginning of the year after a disastrous har vest in the country

WOOL: Firm The price of wool remained firm at 4.26 pounds per kilo on the Bradford market while prices on the Australian market con tinned to climb on weak supply and on strong demand from China and Japan