Gold futures have held on to their surprise gains from last week, while oil prices ended at nine month highs in New York.
Comex gold futures rose Friday, for a weekly gain of 3.3%, amid ongoing violence in Iraq and the belief that US interest rates will remain low well into 2015.
Comex gold for August delivery added $2.50, or 0.2%, to settle at $US1,316.60 an ounce in New York.
US analysts say the reason gold prices rose so sharply on Thursday is that short sellers were forced to cover around $US1,280 to $US1,300 an ounce for gold.
The smaller rise on Friday in Comex futures prices means the shorts have covered and no longer were buying to cover possible losses.
If there is no more tension from Iraq for a while (or anywhere else), the price is likely to retrace below $US1,300 an ounce.
UBS, which has been a gold bear for much of the past year, said in a note in the US on the weekend that the metal’s rise looked "overdone".
Copper prices though remained range bound, but could be on the verge of a breakout judging by the sustained positive trading seen last week in New York and in London.
But the big copper/iron ore/aluminium banking and trading rort in China is overhanging the market and being watched closely for the damage it could do to prices and demand for the commodities involved.
Comex copper futures in New York rose 4 USc to end at $US3.12 a pound. That was up 1.3% on Friday and 2.8% for the week.
But with the price rising for six sessions in a row, it was the strongest rally for copper for six months.
On the London Metal Exchange, zinc prices continued their rise and hit a 17 month high.
Zinc rose 1.2% to $US2,177 a tonne in London after reaching $US2,182, the highest since February 2013, according to Bloomberg.
Gold staged a sudden surge above the $US1,300 level on Thursday, marking the highest level since April 14.
Nymex July West Texas Intermediate marker crude futures in New York rose 83c, or 0.8%, to close at $US107.26 a barrel, early Saturday morning, our time.
The August contract rose 78c to settle at $US106.83 a barrel.
In London, August Brent crude futures closed 25c lower at $US114.81 a barrel a day after notching its highest finish since September.
Brent crude rose 2.1% for the week, while WTI lagged behind with an 0.3% rise over the same stretch.
