Commodity prices mixed with eyes on US economy

LONDON, Aug 23 (AFP): Raw material prices diverged this week on mixed US and Chinese economic data and an easing of geopolitical concerns, analysts said.
On Friday, all eyes were on Janet Yellen as the head of the US central bank said that the American jobs market has not yet fully recovered. In a speech to leading central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, the Federal Reserve chief gave no clear new signs for the outlook on US interest rates.
Midweek, minutes from the July 29-30 Fed meeting showed an intensifying debate on how much the labour market had tightened and how that would impact inflation and the timing of the US central bank's plan to raise benchmark borrowing costs.
OIL: New York benchmark crude dropped to stand below $95 a barrel this week for the first time since January as a healthy supply situation offsets unrest in key producing regions.
The price was affected also by technical reasons as speculative traders sold off ahead of Wednesday's expiry of the contract for September delivery.
Markets, meanwhile, reacted to the demand situations in the United States, the world's biggest crude consumer, and in China, the largest user of energy overall.
PRECIOUS METALS: Palladium prices struck a 13-year peak on expectations that strong global demand would continue to outpace supply, analysts said.
The price of palladium on Monday advanced to $901.45 an ounce, reaching the highest level since February 2001, before pulling back by the end of the week.
BASE METALS: Prices mainly rebounded thanks to solid US data, as aluminium hit an 18-month high at $2,083.75 a tonne supported by technical factors, according to traders.
COCOA: The key chocolate ingredient reached new three-year highs at the start of the week on strong demand before succumbing to profit-taking. Cocoa struck the highest peaks since mid-2011, reaching £2,050 a tonne in London and $3,269 a tonne in New York.
COFFEE: Prices advanced, spurred by supplies tight in main producer Brazil. By Friday on ICE Futures US, Arabica for delivery in December rose to 188.55 US cents a pound compared with 184.50 cents for the September contract a week earlier.
SUGAR: Futures nudged higher following recent falls caused by robust supplies of the commodity.
RUBBER: Prices in Kuala Lumpur edged higher as Malaysia's ringgit currency weakened against the dollar.