* Sharp fall in commodities stalls, bargain hunting emerges
* Weaker dollar also supportive
* Grains remain weak as U.S. ethanol industry struggles
(Updates, prices adds comments, previous Singapore)
By Nigel Hunt
LONDON, Nov 21 (Reuters) - Crude oil and base metals rose on Friday, raising suggestions that the precipitous slide in commodity markets may be stalling.
Oil rose above $50 a barrel, rebounding from a 3-1/2 year low, buoyed by rallies in Europe and Asian equities on talk of further interest rate cuts.
"The move through $50 on January U.S. crude yesterday may have been the final push to the downside and if equities can improve a bit we could see that all the considerable amount of bearish news is finally priced in," said Christopher Bellew at Bache Commodities.
Oil has fallen 11 percent this week, taking it close to a $100 drop from its July record high with U.S. light crude rebounding to $50.08 a barrel, up 58 cents on the day and well above the earlier 3-1/2 year low of $48.25.
Copper touched a fresh 3-year low before recovering on bargain hunting, but rising warehouse stocks and concerns over future demand capped any major advances.
Copper prices in London are down almost 10 percent so far this week on worries about demand, following weak housing data, problems in the auto sector, dismal jobs data and a slump in U.S. equities to their lowest in a decade.
"Sentiment is very negative. A lot of that is flowing from the weakness in equity markets, but not all of that is necessarily warranted," said ANZ's senior commodities analyst Mark Pervan.
"We are seeing slowing demand, evidenced by rising stocks, and the crisis in the U.S. auto industry will have a big impact on copper and aluminium. Prices will trend down, but we may be bottoming out."
Copper for three-months delivery on the London Metal Exchange fell to $3,375 per tonne, its lowest since July 2005 before rallying to $3,530, up from Thursday's close of $3,480.
GOLD GAINS
Gold gained nearly two percent on Friday, as the dollar weakened against the euro and oil prices climbed higher, while platinum rallied more than 6 percent.
"Gold is tracking the movements in the dollar," said analyst Michael Widmer at BNP Paribas, adding stronger oil prices have also helped gold to rise higher.
Gold was trading around $757 an ounce, up from $745.10 an ounce late in New York on Thursday.
Platinum jumped more than 6 percent on bargain-hunting, after falling to a three-week low of $759 an ounce in Asian trade as weak demand from the auto industry continued to weigh on prices.
The metal, used mainly in autocatalysts to clean exhaust fumes, was trading at $793.50 an ounce, up from $762.50 an ounce in New York's on Thursday.
U.S corn and wheat futures eased on Friday, extending losses in the previous U.S. session, as grains remained under pressure from hefty global supplies and demand concerns in a deteriorating economy.
"Fundamentally, there's not a lot to support these markets right now," Brett Cooper, a trader at MF Global Australia Ltd, said.
Corn was feeling the squeeze in particular as traders took the view that the world was well supplied with feed grains and demand for ethanol production would be cut back.
"When you look at the feed grain complex in general it is under a fair bit of pressure, and with ethanol you are seeing the problems some of these companies in the U.S. are having like VeraSun," Cooper said.
One of the largest U.S. ethanol makers, VeraSun, recently filed for bankruptcy protection, leading to concerns about the health of the U.S. ethanol industry and its demand for corn.
U.S. December delivery corn fell 3-3/4 cents or 1.03 percent to $3.60 a bushel while December wheat lost 5 cents or 0.98 percent to $5.06-3/4. (Additional reporting by Nick Trevethan, Annika Breidthardt and Lewa Pardomuan in Singapore, Joe Brock, Anna Stablum and Humeyra Pamuk in London, Valerie Parent in Paris and Bruce Hextall in Sydney; Editing by Anthony Barker)
