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Commodities: Oil up on Turkish drive against Kurds

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Date: Monday 25 Feb 2008

LONDON (ShareCast) - News that the Turkish army has moved against Kurdish separatists in Northern Iraq coupled with cold weather in the US Northeast had oil prices higher Friday.

US light crude for April delivery rose 58 cents to $98.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange in a week that saw the front month contract top $100 twice.

Traders worry that military action in northern Iraq between Turkey and the Kurds threatens a key pipeline that runs out of the country to the Turkish port of Ceyham in the Mediterranean.

But concerns about the US economy following a string of poor economic data capped Friday’s advance, with dealers choosing to bank profits ahead of the weekend.

Gold eased a touch, but still finished the week more than $40 higher than where it started as the yellow metal’s appeal as a hedge against inflation increased.

The April futures contract slipped $1.40 to $947.80 an ounce in New York, but that was far better than the previous Friday’s close of $906.10.

Elsewhere, platinum struck a new record high on concerns about output from South Africa before pulling back later. Palladium and silver also improved, but copper dropped a little.