Gold near record highs as dollar weakens

London - Gold rose on Friday, hovering below the previous session's record high and building a base above $1,100 an ounce as the dollar edged lower and analysts predicted further losses in the currency,

Bullion has hit record highs for six out of the past eight sessions, touching an all-time peak of $1,122.85 on Thursday on the view the dollar would remain weak.

Spot gold was at $1,106.65 per ounce at 1102 GMT, up 0.3 per cent from New York's notional close of $1,103.60.

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Silver traded at $17.27 from $17.21.

Platinum was at $1,353.50 from $1,350.50.

Palladium was at $350.50 from $346.95.

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METALS-Copper ends lower, inventories hit demand outlook


* Macro data improving but inventory levels worry

* Strikes lend support to cap copper losses

* U.S. weekly jobless claims fall more than expected
(Changes headline, adds NEW YORK to dateline, recasts, updates
with New York copper prices, adds analyst comments)

NEW YORK/LONDON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Copper prices ended lower
on Thursday, weighed down by a slight rebound in the U.S. dollar
and growing concerns about demand weakness after London stockpile
levels broke above 400,000 tonnes.

Nickel inventories on the London Metal Exchange (LME)
rose above 131,700 tonnes, the highest since early 1995, driving
prices of the metal down more than 5 percent to their lowest since
late July.

Copper for December delivery on the New York Mercantile
Exchange's COMEX division shed 1.85 cents to end at $2.9475 a lb,
near the lower end of its $2.93 to $3.0010 session range.

LME copper for three-month delivery finished down $37
at $6,503 a tonne from $6,540 at the close on Wednesday and
compared with a session low at $6,468.

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Other Metals

Aluminum ended at $1,948 a
tonne from $1,964. LME stocks in the metal, used in transport and
packaging, fell 3,150 tonnes to 4.53 million tonnes to continue a
recent trend downwards.

Steel-making ingredient nickel ended at $16,190 from
$16,850, having hit $15,975 earlier, its lowest since July 22, as
swelling stockpiles knocked sentiment and raised demand concerns.

Battery material lead ended at $2,260 from $2,304.50,
zinc ended at $2,150 from $2,184 and tin was last
bid at $14,650, its lowest in just over a week. It closed
Wednesday at $14,725.

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Oil rises above $77 as dollar slips

London - U.S. crude oil rose above $77 a barrel on Friday, buoyed by renewed weakness in the U.S. dollar, but bulging fuel inventories in the United States kept price gains in check.

By 1148 GMT, U.S crude futures were up 34 cents at $77.28 a barrel, having fallen by more than $2 in the previous session. In Asian trade on Friday, prices dipped to $76.00 a barrel, the lowest level in almost a month.

Brent crude futures rose 42 cents to $76.44.

Oil fell on Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the Department of Energy, reported crude and product stocks in the world's largest energy consumer rose by more-than-expected last week.

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Cliffs

It seems that Cliffs is further diversifying there operations with the resent joint venture with First Point. First Point has entered into a option agreement whereby Cliffs Natural Resources Exploration Inc. ("Cliffs"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cliffs Natural Resources Inc., and its wholly-owned Canadian exploration subsidiary have been granted an option to earn an initial 51% interest in a joint venture to advance the Decar nickel alloy property in central BC. At the same time, Cliffs has agreed to subscribe to a private placement of First Point shares

CLF-N (at $40.22): New 52-Week High.

11:27 AM 13/11/2009

CLF-N
Last Price: $40.22
Net Change: $1.27
% Change: 3.26%
Previous close: $38.95
High: $40.22
Low: $38.75
52-Week High: $40.21
52-Wk Low:$11.80
Volume: 1,553,748