LONDON: Commodities mainly fell this week as traders digested an EU plan to tackle the Greek debt crisis, alongside news of moderately weaker economic growth in the United States, a key consumer.
“Most commodity markets (were) lower, weighed primarily by broader market concerns,” said Barclays Capital analysts in a research note to clients. They added: “Lingering concerns on sovereign risk in the euro area and a smattering of mixed US macro-economic data have all affected the trajectory of commodity price movements.” European leaders agreed in Brussels on Friday to rescue debt-ridden Greece, but markets remained cautious amid lingering concerns over the deal. Meanwhile, data showed on Friday that the US economy grew at a slower pace than previously thought in the fourth quarter, as business and consumer spending slackened amid a fragile recovery from recession. The world’s largest economy grew by 5.6 per cent in the October-December period, the Commerce Department said, revising downward an earlier estimate of 5.9 per cent growth in gross domestic product.
