* Commodity prices linger near multi-year lows
* Fed officials speak in favour of rate hike
* Euro set to end the week in positive territory
By Alistair Smout
LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - European shares were set for
their biggest weekly fall since September on Friday after
commodity prices tumbled to multi-year lows on worries over
slower global growth and a glut in supply.
The FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 fell 0.4 percent, down 2.3
percent for the week and set for its biggest weekly loss in ten.
Basic resources stocks .SXPP remained down 4.8 percent
this week, despite bouncing 1.2 percent on Friday. Energy shares
were down 3.8 percent for the week.
"The markets are alarmed that there have been further sharp
falls in commodity prices," Russ Mould, investment director at
AJ Bell, said in a note.
"There is increasing evidence that global growth is slowing
and investor confidence has been hit as a result."
Commodity prices showed some signs of stabilisation,
although they remained near multi-year lows.
Oil prices edged away from two-month lows on Friday, having
tumbled to near 6 1/2-year lows this week, levels last seen in
August after concerns over Chinese growth rocked markets.
U.S. crude futures CLc1 touched a 2-1/2 month low of
$41.38 per barrel on a persistent rise in U.S. stockpiles, and
were poised for a 5.5 percent decline for the week.
Copper CMCU3 , often seen as a good gauge of the world's
economic health because of its extensive industrial use, touched
a six-year low of $4,787.50 per tonne, below its August trough.
It was set for a 3.8 percent loss for the week.
James Butterfill, Head of Research & Investment Strategy at
ETF Securities, said he expected supply of copper to tighten as
mining firms cut back on capital expenditure.
"We expect miners to continue to cut capex, which raises
concerns over their longer term profitability," he said.
"That's why we think we're nearing the floor in copper... as
the cuts in capex will lead to a constriction on supply. Markets
have also priced in a big contraction in Chinese consumption,
which the data is not supporting."
Gold XAU= edged back up to $1,083.66 from a six-year low
of $1,074.26 per ounce.
The drop in European stocks followed on from falls in Asia,
while U.S. Federal Reserve officials kept drumming up the case
for a rate hike next month.
MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan
.MIAPJ0000PUS dropped 1.4 percent, led by losses in resource
shares. It was down 3.2 percent for the week.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 closed down 0.5 percent, snapping a
seven-day winning streak, but was up 1.7 percent for the week.
The Shanghai Composite index .SSEC slipped 1.4 percent,
with MSCI's ACWI, the index compiler's broadest gauge of world
shares covering 46 markets .MIWD00000PUS fell to its lowest
level in a month, having slipped 3.3 percent from its 2
1/2-month high touched on Nov 4.
Various Fed officials on Thursday lined up behind a likely
December interest rate hike.
Stanley Fischer, the Fed's second-in-command, said U.S.
inflation should rebound next year, noting that the central bank
could move next month to raise interest rates.
New York Fed President William Dudley said the risk of
waiting too long was now roughly in balance with the risk of
moving too soon to normalise rates.
None of these factors, however, significantly moved interest
rate futures, which are still pricing in a roughly 70 percent
chance of a rate hike in December, pointing to investor concerns
about potential downside risks to the world economy.
U.S. retail sales, due later on Friday, will be closely
monitored for further clues about the likely timing of a U.S.
rate hike.
Expectations that the Federal Reserve may hike rates, with
the European Central Bank expected to ease policy further in
December, has pushed the two-year US-German yield gap to its
widest in 9 years and the 5-year spread to its widest since
1999.
The dollar index .DXY , which tracks the U.S. currency
against a basket of six of its major peers, has edged back from
Tuesday's seven-month high of 99.50 to last trade at 98.904,
slightly higher for the day.
The dollar edged up 0.1 percent to 122.74 yen JPY= , off
Monday's 2 1/2-month peak of 123.60, as risk appetite receded.
The euro slipped 0.6 percent to $1.0755 EUR= , remaining
under pressure after European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi
singled out the currency's more robust performance since May as
one driver for a "weakening" outlook on inflation on Thursday.
However, the euro looked set to end the week in positive
territory, its loss on the day leaving it well above $1.0700 and
stymying those who had expected the greenback to surge again
after very strong jobs data a week ago.