Prices in the commodities market plummeted on Thursday led by gold and copper as investor confidence tumbled on discouraging news of China's exports reaching its slowest in eight months, Greece's debt problems, Italy's mounting borrowing costs and concerns of a spread out of the eurozone problem.

Spot gold dropped 0.8 per cent to $US1,755.69 an ounce by 11.46am EDT (0346 Friday AEDT), while US gold futures for December delivery sank $US35 at $US1,756.60 an ounce.

Silver crashed 0.9 per cent to $US33.75 an ounce while platinum decreased 0.6 per cent to $US1,615.74 an ounce.

Palladium, used to make jewelry such as springs for watches, surgical instruments, electrical contacts and dental fillings and crowns, crept up 0.5 per cent at $US647.72 per ounce.

Fuelled by uncertainty in the overall fiscal health of most developed nations, investor frenzy to cash in their investments set base metal copper against its biggest weekly loss in seven weeks, extending losses for a fifth day.

The London Metal Exchange (LME) three-month benchmark copper dropped to a low of $US7,357 per tonne, its lowest since October 24, before its last bid at $US7,475. On Wednesday, it was also down at $US7,621.

Copper is used in a wide range of industrial applications and is highly sensitive to even the smallest movements in the global economy.

The key December COMEX contract in New York fell two per cent, or 6.70 US cents, to close at $US3.3740, after going between $US3.3180 and $US3.4290.

Futures volumes remained bright, with 53,000 lots traded late in New York. Preliminary data from Thomson Reuters indicate this is a hike of 13 per cent below the 30-day norm.

Inventories at LME copper warehouse, meanwhile, lost another 2,125 tonnes, bringing total inventory levels to 410,025 tonnes.

It was a different story for energy commodities as world oil prices rose on Thursday despite the market unconfident of how the eurozone's debt crisis will be solved.

Light sweet crude for December in New York added $US2.04 to $US97.78 spurred by hopes that demand from top oil consumers such as the United States are back on track.

Brent North Sea crude for delivery in December gained 16 US cents to $112.47 a barrel in London afternoon trade.

The International Energy Agency earlier revised expected global oil demand will go down by 70,000 barrels per day this year and by 20,000 barrels next year after the United States, China and Japan posted low third-quarter demand data.

Ricardo Strategic Consulting forecast global demand for oil may peak before 2020 as nations stock crude oil at no more than 4 per cent above 2010 levels.

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