Worst week in a month after mixed economic data

NEW YORK: Commodities ended their worst week in a month as mixed signals on the U.S. economy brought prices broadly down a fifth straight session on Friday, March 12 prompting investors to await more crucial data next week, according to Reuters.

U.S. housing, industrial output and inflation data for February are due in the coming week.

Mixed numbers for consumer sentiment in early March and retail sales numbers for last month hurt prices in oil, gold and a few agricultural markets on Friday.

Investors have also worried about the Chinese economy this week, after data showing February inflation at 16-month highs triggered talk that Beijing may resort to monetary tightening.

China is the No.1 buyer of metals and a giant consumer of many other raw materials, including energy and food commodities.

"Some are concerned growth in China as we saw it over the last month will not be sustainable," said Eugen Weinberg, an analyst who watches base metals for Europe's Commerzbank.

The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, one of the world's most popular commodity benchmarks, was down 1.3 percent on the week, after falling in every session since last Friday.

It was the worst weekly performance for the 19-commodity index since the week ending Feb. 7, where it fell 2.7 percent.

The decline came despite a sharp drop in the dollar. A weaker dollar usually boosts demand for commodities as they become cheaper for investors and traders using other currencies.

Investors who track the CRB include pensions, endowments and other big pools of money that invest up to hundreds of millions of dollars in commodity derivatives, betting on prices to rise.

Other leading commodity indexes fell too.

The DJ-UBS was down 1.7 percent on the week. The S&P GSCI -- which has the highest weighting for energy products among commodity indexes -- was down half a percent.

On Friday, U.S. crude oil settled down 1 percent, or 87 cents, at $81.24 a barrel.

The drop came after a survey showing U.S. consumer sentiment declined slightly in early March, jarring with better-than-expected U.S. retail sales in February as shoppers grappled with snow storms.

In gold, New York's most-actively traded futures contract, April GCJ0> closed down 0.6 percent, or $6.50, at $1,101.70 an ounce. For the week, it was down 3 percent.

In soybeans, Chicago's benchmark May contract SK0> settled down half a percent, or 5 cents, at $9.25-1/2 a bushel. For the week, the contract was down about 2 percent.

Soybeans suffered their biggest loss in 40 sessions on Thursday after China canceled purchases and sparked concerns that demand for commodities from that country could wane as its government tries to tighten lending to tame soaring consumer inflation.

New York-traded sugar for May SBK0> ended up 2 percent, or 0.4 cent, at 19.67 cents a lb. But for the week, it was down 11 percent after falling in four out of five sessions.

Copper bucked the trend in other commodities, closing higher on the day after investors in the metal -- which usually reflects global economic sentiment better than most commodities -- decided to focus on falling stockpiles of the metal.

New York-traded copper for May HGK0> settled up 0.9 percent, or 0.3 cent, at $3.38 a lb. But for the week, it fell 1 percent. - Reuters