Gold futures ended about 2 per cent lower yesterday, posting their
biggest one-day percentage drop in almost two months as a U.S. dollar rally and tumbling oil triggered heavy profit taking. Gold for August delivery settled at $965.60 (U.S.) in New York, off $18.80.


CLOSING PRICES (SPOT)

Gold US$/troy ounce 963.42 -18.53

Silver US$/troy ounce 15.36 -0.62

Copper US$/lb 2.22 -0.06

Lead US$/lb 0.72 -0.02

Zinc US$/lb 0.69 -0.02

Aluminum US$/lb 0.66 0.01

Nickel US$/lb 6.41 -0.19

Oil West Texas US$/bbl 66.12 -2.43

Nat Gas Henry Hub US$ mmbtu 3.81 -0.24

Nat.Gas AECO C C$/gigajoule 3.16 0.06

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Copper steadies, but demand concerns persist


LONDON - Copper steadied on Thursday, gaining support from rising equities and a weaker dollar, but a fresh spate of weak data kept demand concerns alive.

Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange traded at $4,923 (U.S.) a tonne at 0921 GMT from a close of $4,915 on Wednesday.

The metal used extensively in power and construction rose above $5,000 earlier this week as stronger data fanned speculation that the global economy could have hit a floor.

"People don't expect a dramatic, swift recovery, but they do expect a recovery," Standard Bank analyst Leon Westgate said.

This recent market optimism was tempered by a bout of weak data on Wednesday that stoked demand concerns.

Data showed the service sector, which accounts for about 80 per cent of U.S. economic activity, shrank for the eighth straight month in May, even though the rate of contraction slowed.

Other data showed new orders received by U.S. factories rebounded in April, but the previous month's figure was sharply revised downwards to show a steeper drop.

But analysts maintain that the economic outlook is starting to brighten slightly.

"People are now brave enough to look a bit further forward now that things appear to have bottomed. China's economy is growing and the economic data is not great but it's not getting worse," Mr. Westgate added.

Providing some support, European equities climbed, ahead of rate decisions from the Bank of England and the European Central bank, while the dollar weakened against a basket of currencies. A weaker dollar makes metals priced in the U.S. currency cheaper for holders of other currencies.

Aluminum stood at $1,492 from $1,482. Stocks of the metal used in transport and packaging declined for a second day in a row - down 6,900 tonnes at about 4.2 million tonnes. Stocks fell on Wednesday after striking record highs consistently since April 20.

But the outlook for aluminum is weak as potential production restarts in China threaten to flood the market with material and as the auto sector continues to languish.

"I'm worried that on any pick-up in prices, a lot of facilities in China could get restarted, and that could temper any further (price) rise," said Charles Kernot, a mining analyst at Evolution Securities.

Among other industrial metals, zinc was at $1,533 from 1,535, battery material lead stood at $1,602 from $1,615 and tin was at $14,365 from $14,500.

Nickel traded at $14,099 from $14,200.

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