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Gold/Mining/Energy : Rock Resources -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: the Chief who wrote (86)	4/23/1998 1:30:00 PM
From: the Chief	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1996

FOCUS-Copper hits five-month high, palladium firm LONDON, April 22 (Reuters) - Copper prices were rebuffed above $1,900 on Wednesday afternoon London Metal Exchange (LME) trading, although the market still closed firm after soaring to five-month highs earlier. The morning saw copper racing up to a peak of $1,910 - the highest since early November 1997 - with stocks falling by 7,125 tonnes or 17,975 tonnes so far this week. ''When things change, they just get carried away. A week ago or so it was all different, now sentiment is much better,'' said one copper trader. Palladium rocketed $42.00 to an all-time high on Wednesday afternoon of $380.00 an ounce, up more than 12 percent on the morning's figure of $338.00 an ounce. Prices were driven up by fears that Russia's state Duma lower house of parliament might again reject President Yeltsin's prime ministerial nominee Sergei Kiriyenko, further confusing the export picture for Russian platinum group metals (PGMs). Palladium, exceptionally, is now more expensive than gold. Russia's upper house of parliament on Wednesday urged the lower chamber to back Kiriyenko rather than vote itself out of existence. The vote is to take place on Friday. Russia has failed to export palladium, a white precious metal, since last December, raising the prospect of a re-run of 1997's six-month supply freeze which paralysed the market and drove prices to now modest highs near $250 an ounce. Palladium is used mainly in vehicle catalysts to help cut exhaust pollution as well as in the manufacture of electronics components and in dentistry. LIFFE coffee futures remained lower in quiet trading on Wednesday afternoon, trade being centred on switches and light fund long liquidation. The story was much the same for LIFFE cocoa which consolidated its recent sudden gains, ending mixed. CSCE world sugar futures were also mixed by midsession with the market seen firming after tumbling to life-of contract lows earlier this week. The pull-back in copper also took the shine off the other metals during the latter part of the session, although most still ended in the plus column, traders said. Some commodity prices at 1600 GMT - Wednesday Tuesday Ldn Spot Gold ($ per ounce) 312.55 308.05 IPE Brent Crude Oil (June) 14.47 14.56 London Metal Exchange (3 mths delivery) Copper ($ per tonne) 1,890.00 1,868.00 Aluminium ($ per tonne) 1,469.00 1,464.00 LIFFE Coffee ($/tonne)(July) 1,916.00 1,923.00 Cocoa (Stg/tonne) (July) 1,082.00 1,080.00 White Sugar ($/tonne August) 252.50 253.10 CHICAGO BOARD OF TRADE Wheat July ($/bushel) 3.08 3.10