LONDON, May 4: Strike action at Goodyear Tyre factories in the United States unleashed the latest blow to rubber prices, which were pummelled to the lowest level for three years on the London market, reports AFP.

For some weeks now. pric es have come under pressure from abundant latex harvests in southeast Asia and limited demand from Europe.

One London trader predicted that industrial unrest at the US plant — which Is the third biggest producer of tyres in the world — would cut Its rubber imports by 15 to 20 per cent.

Rubber prices have fallen by one third in less than a year.

Strikes action has also set the copper market ablaze. Giant copper complexes in Chile have succumbed to industrial unrest, unleashing fears that exports might fall.

GOLD: Scratched. The precious metal lost even more of its lustre, losing two dollars to 340 dollars per ounce, affected by the strength of the dollar, which rose on the prospect of a hike in US interest rates.

Gold also suffered from the buoyancy of stock markets, which makes precious metals seem less attractive to investors compared to shares.

SILVER: Recovery. After an early dip, silver prices climbed up again, on the back of speculative buying on the New York futures market.

The metal's price ended the week unchanged at 4.75 dollars per ounce.

PLATINUM AND PALLADIUM: Static. The price of palladium, used to make catalytic converters and in electronic circuit boards, held firm at 156 dollars per ounce.

The price of platjnum, used

in Jewellery and to make catalytic converters, fell by three dollars to 373 dollars per ounce.

COPPER: Nervous. Traders feared that actual and threatened strike action — notably in Chile — would reduce metal exports at a time when market stocks have reached rock bottom.

Nonetheless, three-month copper prices held firm at about 2.360 dollars per tonne on the London Metal Exchange (LME) which was just 10 dollars lower than last week.

Prices came under pressure after a rise in LME reserves, which followed a period of sustained stock draws.

GN1 said that the current high prices had encouraged producers to offload hefty supplies on to the market.

LEAD: Heavy. Lead prices fell by about 10 dollars to 624 dollars per Jonpe. despite a

hefty fall in LME reserves.

ZINC: Dull. Zinc prices fell by about 10 dollars to 1,260 dollars per tonne amid quiet trading. ..

— ALUMINIUM: Lift. Aluminium prices rose by 20 dollars to 1,620 dollars per tonne as some dealers predicted that there would be a "tightening" of supply in the months ahead?

This was despite a slowdown in the rate of decrease In LME stocks, which fell by 10,000 tonnes compared with a fall of 20,000 tonnes last week.

NICKEL: Tumble. Nickel prices fell by about 90 dollars to 7.350 dollars per tonne.

TIN: Frozen. Tin prices held at 5.720 dollars per tonne.

OIL: Steady. The oil market remained steady this week, with prices fluctuating between 18.10 and 18.60 dollars per barrel, some traders, however.

warn that prices could weaken in the future because of booming world output.

RUBBER: Puncture. A strike at Goodyear's plants in the United States has put further pressure on an already vulnerable weak market. The stoppage, which started on April 20 at nine production sites, has reduce the company’s rubber imports by 15 to 20 per cent, one London trader calculated.

COCOA: Crunch. The price of this tropical bean was crunched this week, falling 60 pounds to 990 pounds per tonne, after a flood of speculative sales.

The release of several forecasts pointing to unexpectedly plentiful crops in Ivory Coast — the world's number one cocoa producer — has turned the screws on the market.

COFFEE: Strong. The price of robusta, a bean harvested

mainly in Africa arid Asia, and used for instant coffee, advanced modestly by 30 dollars to 1,670 dollars per tonne, while in New York, the price of Arabica (high-grade coffee, mainly from Brazil) shot up because of low US stocks.

The price of Arabica in New York climbed to a two and a half year high, with supplies of the south American coffee in short supply.

TEA: Bolling. Demand is particularly healthy on the London tea auctions for east African leaves, which have been in short supply because of searing drought which ravaged tea bushes on the highlands in Kenya.

The price of medium-grade tea rose by four pence to 141 pence per kg.

SUGAR: Melting. Sugar prices fell around three dollars to 301 dollars per tonne.

mainly because of Brazilian sales in New York.

Prices could ease in coming weeks, but they are unlikely to fluctuate wildly, despite the prospect of a drop in Russian purchases after Moscow’s imposition of an import tax from May 15, according to trading house E. D. and F. Man.

VEGETABLE OILS: Bubbling. Hefty soya purchases by Asian countries (China is believed to be a potential buyer) and threadbare US stock levels combined to drive up the price of this vegetable oil.

Soya prices climbed 43 cents to 8.90 dollars per bushel (27.2 kg — for delivery in May) on the Chicago Board of Trade.

GRAINS: Caution. The market is casting a wary eye over the skies above Europe and North America, the world's two main producer regions, at a crucial time for. harvesting of

winter wheat and the sowing of spring wheat and maize.

The sowing of spring wheat is terribly delayed, flooding has forced farmers in North Dakota and Minnesota from their land, only five per cent of fields have been sown, compared to 23 per cent at the same time last year.

The price of wheat in Chicago held relatively steady at 4.14 dollars per bushel (27.2 kg) for delivery in May. four cents lower than a week earlier.

COTTON: Firm. Prices on the cash market held steady at around 79 cents per pound, on the back of continued healthy demand.

WOOL: Warm. On the Australian wool auctions, the eastern index gained 19 cents to 6.79 Australian dollars per kg, the highest level since the start of the June 1996-July 1997 season, lifted by healthy exports.