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COMMODITIES – Gold At New Peak; Oil, Copper Up As Dollar Wilts

* Gold breaks past $1,170 per ounce in race towards $1,200
* Oil and copper up, helped by weak dlr, U.S. housing
* Crop prices mostly down on bearish supply-demand issues

NEW YORK, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Gold ended up after scaling yet another record high on Monday and oil and copper prices rose as renewed weakness in the dollar continued to attract investor interest to commodities. But crop prices ended mostly lower as bearish supply issues came to the fore, dulling any excitement provided by the weaker greenback — which makes dollar-denominated commodities cheaper and more attractive to users of other currencies.

The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, settled up marginally, rising just 0.1 percent, due to the divergence across the asset class. Gold broke through the $1,170-per-ounce level, furthering prospects for an expected challenge of psychological resistance at $1,200. “Gold has a lot of momentum. It is trading off the back of the dollar, and at the moment it seems to be outperforming that trade, as are a lot of other commodities,” said Daniel Major, an analyst at RBS Global Banking & Markets. The spot price of gold, which reflects trading in bullion, stood above $1,165 an ounce by 5:00 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) in New York, against the $1,148.20 level late on Friday.

In U.S. gold futures, the market’s most-active December contract settled up $17.90, or 1.6 percent, at $1,164.70 an ounce. Gold has hit record highs nine times this month as its appeal as an alternative to the dollar grew amid 15-month lows plumbed by the U.S. currency. The dollar strengthened a little on Friday but turned weak the next session after comments by a U.S. Federal Reserve official, who reinforced expectations that interest rates would stay low for some time.

Indications of a recovery in the U.S. economy, such as Monday’s better-than-expected data for home sales in October, have also encouraged investors to take greater risks lately in the commodities and equity markets, analysts said. “If you’re bearish, there’s a piece of data every couple of weeks that you can lash onto, and if you’re optimistic, you’ll find something to be encouraged about,” said Robert Stimpson, portfolio manager at Oak Associates in Akron, Ohio. Copper ended up but away from the session’s 14-month highs, as rising inventories and bearish import data from top consumer China slowed dollar-induced buying momentum.

Benchmark three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange closed up $160 at $6,950 a tonne. In New York, U.S. copper futures for December delivery ended up 2.75 cents at $3.1355 a lb, after dealing between $3.1280 and $3.1790, a new high dating back to late September 2008. Oil prices settled up slightly as strong U.S. housing data pressured the dollar and lifted expectations an economic rebound will bolster fuel demand. Sales of existing U.S. homes rose in October at a faster-than-expected pace to the highest in more than 2-1/2 years as buyers rushed to take advantage of a popular tax credit, according to a survey by the National Association of Realtors. U.S. crude gained 9 cents to settle at $77.56 a barrel, after concerns about weak demand and high inventories pushed the market off earlier highs of $79.92 a barrel. London’s Brent crude rose 26 cents to $77.46 a barrel.

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