While oil trading dominated commodity markets last week lead slumped sharply, losing 13%. In contrast oil gained 3.3% over the week as Brent crude moved past $US146 a barrel on Thursday but eased Friday to $US144.95 a barrel. Nymex August West Texas Intermediate, which hit a record of $US145.85 a barrel, yesterday fell $1 to $US144.25 a barrel.

Oil prices touched a record high on Thursday of $146.69 a barrel in London for Brent. But traders reckon the more significant story was the weakness in base metals and some agricultural commodities. Agriculture commodities were mixed, with corn and wheat down, but soybeans jumped almost 5% over the week to an all-time high of $US16.6575 a bushel.

Gold ended the week flat at $US931.90 an ounce. All the base metals ended the week down, apart from aluminium, which rose 1.5% to $US3,166 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange. Lead dropped 13% on the week to $1,568 a tonne. It was its biggest fall in six weeks.

Copper also slipped. Three month lead closed $US42 lower, or 2.6% at $US1,568 a tonne Friday in London. The metal has lost 39% so far this year, making it the biggest loser on the LME. Goldman Sachs JBWere issued a bearish report midweek on lead, arguing that supply will outpace demand by 130,000 tonnes this year. That's an estimated 29% more than all the lead held in warehouses monitored by the LME. Lead stocks have more than doubled this year, to 100,675 tonnes.

Goldman Sachs said: "In the short-term (2008 and 2009), we see the global market remaining in surplus and, based on our expectations of mounting inventories and on our understanding of current industry costs, we expect further downside for prices over the next two years. "We have made a reality downgrade for our 2008 lead price assumption based on recent/current trading levels; our 2009 forecast is unchanged. "But in 2010 we envisage the market moving back to balance, and then into significant deficit in 2011 and 2012.

"We have therefore raised our price forecasts for the final two years of our forecast period as follows (previous estimates in brackets): - 2008: 99c/lb (105c/lb)- 2009: 70c/lb (unchanged)- 2010: 50c/lb (unchanged)- 2011: 70c/lb (45c/lb)- 2012: 90c/lb (45c/lb) "In terms of our base metals preferences for investment exposure, we rank lead with zinc; ahead of nickel, but behind copper and aluminium."

Copper slid for a second day, hurt by the stronger dollar on Friday in Europe. The contract fell $US172.50, or 2%, to $US8,472.50 a tonne in London, the first weekly decline in three. Copper stockpiles tracked by the LME rose 75 tonnes to 122,575 tonnes. Inventories of copper reported by the Shanghai Futures Exchange jumped 12% to 36,175 tonnes. Aluminum fell $US24 to $US3,160 a tonne and nickel slid $US250 to $US20,600. Tin lost $US450 to $US22,400 and zinc slipped $US8 to $US1,775.