Iron ore prices, which began a steep fall in March, hit a 12-month low of $53 per ton in mid-June, largely due to Chinese authorities' attempts to tame a possible bubble economy. Since China is the main driver in the iron ore market, prices are likely to remain near that level for the time being. SEE MORE Supply crunch and indifference of growers towards tapping drove natural rubber prices 12 per cent higher this month in the Indian market grossly outpacing a marginal pickup in the global rates. SEE MORE Base metals prices on the London Metal Exchange are up by an average of 0.4% this morning, Thursday July 20, with gains fairly tightly bunched between 0.2% for zinc and tin and 0.7% for lead. Three-month copper prices are up 0.3% at $5,983 per tonne – volume has been below average at 4,300 lots as of 06:09 BST. SEE MORE The United Arab Emirates Energy Minister Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui said on Friday he hopes that global supplies will start tightening in the second half of the year when demand picks up. SEE MORE Oil prices were little changed on Friday ahead of a key meeting of major oil producing nations next week, sitting below the $50 per barrel level that was briefly breached for the first time in 6 weeks in the previous session. SEE MORE