Commodities: Profit-taking sets in after China raises margins for iron-ore trading, Goldman bearish

Commodities came under profit-taking at the end of the week, amid a rise in the US dollar as interest rate expectations Stateside edged higher and negative commentary from some top brokers.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index closed down 0.64% to 167.52 on Friday, but was nearly 3% higher for the week and by over 14% since 20 January. In parallel, the spot dollar index climbed 0.55% to 95.12 on Friday.

Gold futures skidded 1.62% to $1,230/oz. in COMEX trading and spot platinum lost 1.60% to $1,008.90. Silver futures on the other hand rose 0.50% to $16.99/oz.

To take note of, at one point in the week both silver and soybean futures entered a technical 'bull' market.

China raises margin requirements for iron ore

Most bulk and industrial metals were lower as China moved to raise margin requirements on iron ore trading on the country's exchanges and Goldman Sachs weighed in with 'bearish' commentary.

Iron Ore with 62 percent content delivered to Qingdao fell 5.9% to $66.33 on Friday, albeit after tacking on almost 9% in the previous session.

"A tight steel market in China is a temporary distraction [for iron ore] ... The current rally is unsustainable,” Goldman told clients, although analysts at the likes of Credit Suisse or Macquarie appeared to have a more constructive view.

Three-month LME-traded copper futures moved higher by 0.6% to $5,031.00 per metric tonne, but the rest of the industrial metals market was swathed in red.

For example, three-month Zinc - one of 2016's favourites among traders - closed 9.3% lower at $1,908.50 per metric tonne.

Goldman shifts stance on energy

Front month West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures finished 1.27% higher at 1.27% to $43.73 per barrel on NYMEX. The latest weekly tally from Baker Hughes revealed that the US oil rig count fell by eight to 343.

Natural gas futures fared even better, tacking on 3.48% to $2.14/MMBtu.

To take note, in its note published on Friday Goldman did shift its stance on the outlook for energy from 'underweight' to 'neutral'.

Wheat futures take big hit, cocoa outperforms

Better weather conditions in Russia and the US amid high global stock levels combined with lower price forecasts from Goldman Sachs for wheat to send prices for most soft commodities lower.

Corn futures tumbled 3.66% to $3.75 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, following recent strong gains on the back of drought concerns in Brazil, while the July 2016 wheat futures contract got a thrashing, with traders sending it down by 5.86% to $4.74 per bushel on reduced concerns for the winter crop Stateside.

Cocoa futures were an exception, gaining 1.54% to $3,155 per metric tonne.

Soybean futures for July delivery were also on the backfoot, retreating 3% to $9.9625 a bushel, a day after entering a 'technical' bull-market on the heels of flood concerns in Argentina.