Copper had its biggest drop in six months on Friday and oil tumbled, too, as global economic uncertainties rose and the dollar rallied, making raw materials priced in the currency less affordable for euro holders.
Gold was another commodity that ended lower, posting its biggest decline in more than three months.
Cocoa, sugar and coffee -- known as soft commodities -- bucked the downtrend, surging in price after signs of improved demand and less supply in some of the markets. Cocoa hit a three-week high and sugar a one-week top.
The 19-commodity Thomson Reuters-Jefferies CRB index settled nearly 1% down.
For the week, it was off just slightly, accounting for the broad run-up in prices in three of the five sessions. The retreat came after a report showed US home resales fell in September, a reminder that America's housing sector is a long way from a full recovery.
Recovery prospects also look tepid in China as the No 2 economy grapples with the slowest quarter of growth since the depths of the global financial crisis four years ago.
Adding to the bearish sentiment was concern that both the Europe Union and Spain were dragging their feet on a much-needed bailout to keep Madrid finances afloat. That pushed the euro lower to the dollar.
Commodities had a spectacular run in the third quarter as monetary easing and other stimulus action by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks pushed prices up. Since October when the fourth quarter began, markets have mostly struggled.
"DON'T EXPECT METALS TO RISE LIKE IN SEPTEMBER"
"We had a big rally in base metal prices going into September on anticipation of QE3 (the third round of quantitative easing), the implementation of QE3 and also the raft of policy initiatives announced in China and measures taken by the ECB," said Nic Brown, head of commodities research at Natixis.
"Just don't expect this surge in prices to be sustainable. It was not a real reflection of improved demand in China and it is no surprise to us that base metals prices have come off quite significantly."
Copper, the leading base metal watched by commodity investors, closed down 2.5% in London, with the benchmark three-month futures contract ending at $8 015/t. It was the sharpest fall since early April.
US copper futures' most-active contract, December, settled 2.8% lower at $3.63/lb.
RESTART OF PIPELINE WEIGHS ON OIL
Brent crude oil fell for a fourth straight session, its biggest one-day tumble since September 23.
Economic worries aside, oil was weighed down by news that TransCanada -- operator of a major Canadian-US crude pipeline -- would restart its 590 000-barrel-a-day Keystone pipeline after just a three-day closure. The line was shut on Wednesday after an anomaly was detected.
"Because of the ample supplies of oil (in the US), a three-day closure is not extremely bullish -- if they announce a delay that's when the market will start to get a bid in it again," said Gene McGillian, analyst at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.
Brent closed at $110.14 a barrel, down 2% on the day and off 3.5% on the week. US crude settled at $90.05, down 2% for both the session and week.
Edited by: Creamer Media Reporter
