Whether China will make such a move is up in the air, but US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is in Beijing today to apply diplomatic pressure.

The slight dent in the China growth story has seen the US dollar strengthen and led to falls in commodities, including a 1.42% dive so far today in London Metal Exchange official cash prices for copper.

But at $US7795.50 a tonne, copper remains on very high ground and has only slipped 1% from the closing price of $7881/t a week ago.

Nickel is down a mere 0.49% this morning at a generous $24,440/t, but has slipped 4% since the close last Friday.

Spot gold was unaffected by trading today and, at $1150.49 an ounce, is in the higher range for this year, continuing its long-term upward trend as many financial uncertainties from the GFC remain unresolved.

Gold is up 2.6% on the close a week ago.

Oil prices are tipped to spike again during the upcoming summer season in the northern hemisphere.

Asia-Pacific benchmark Singapore Tapis crude closed at $87.16 a barrel yesterday, up 1.75% from the previous week.

On our watchlist, New Guinea Energy gained 21.62% for the week despite no announcements, while Coppermoly was up 12.5%, with copper and oil prices remaining healthy.

New Guinea Gold gained 3.65% for the week as exploration progresses at its Sinivit mine, while most other gold producers and explorers did well with the notable exception of Lihir Gold, which slipped almost 2%.

More action could be on the cards for Lihir shareholders, however, as Newcrest is tipped to bolster its rejected and largely scrip-based takeover offer for the major PNG gold producer.