* Crude oil, copper slip but head for weekly gains * Brent stays above $111 as EU debt plan boosts confidence * U.S. economic expansion spurs commodity demand By Jane Lee KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Crude oil and copper slipped on Friday after a sharp rise in the previous session, but optimism surrounding Europe's initiatives to tackle the region's debt crisis and expansion in the U.S. economy kept most commodities firmly on track for weekly gains. Euro zone leaders struck a last-minute deal on Thursday to contain the region's two-year-old crisis but are now under pressure to finalise the details of their plan to slash Greece's debt burden and strengthen their rescue fund. "The market will now be able to stop fascinating about the problems in Europe, the risks posed by Europe, and look at the underlying fundamentals which aren't as bad as market prices suggested in recent times," said Warren Hogan, chief economist at the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group in Melbourne. U.S. crude CLc1 fell 80 cents to $93.16, after a 4 percent rise on Thursday, but was headed for a weekly gain of more than 6 percent, its biggest since early March. Although Brent crude LCOc1 shed 0.5 percent, it stayed above $111 and was set for a 1.8 percent gain this week. Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange slipped 0.8 percent, after rising about 6 percent in the previous session, but was on track to see a stellar 13 percent gain on the week - the biggest gain since January 2009. "You got an initial knee-jerk reaction yesterday with prices going up, and probably there's some selling going on now based on the reality that it's still a way to go to solve the problems," said Tony Nunan, a Tokyo-based risk manager at Mitsubishi Corp. U.S. President Barack Obama said Europe's agreement had calmed global markets and it was now important the countries follow through on implementation of the pact. A firm dollar, up about 0.3 percent against a basket of currencies , also weighed on prices. A stronger dollar makes commodities priced in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies. Data out of the United States on Thursday showed that the world's biggest economy grew at its fastest pace in a year in the third quarter but consumer confidence in October dropped to a 2-1/2-year low. GOLD PRICES Precious metals held steady after rallying in tandem with other riskier assets over the last few days. Spot gold climbed to a one-month top of $1,751.99 an ounce, before retreating to $1,739.30 by 0750 GMT. It is headed for a weekly gain of 6 percent, the biggest in two months. U.S. gold GCcv1 edged down 0.4 percent to $1,741.50, on course for its sharpest one-week increase in more than two years with a 6.3 percent gain. Spot silver gained 0.4 percent to $35.19, on course for a weekly gain of more than 12 percent, its sharpest since September 2008. Spot platinum rose 1.2 percent to $1,651. Prices have climbed about 9 percent this week, the most since May 2008. In grains, U.S. wheat slid 0.9 percent on Friday after last session's biggest jump in two weeks, while corn edged lower as markets took a breather following a rally sparked by Europe's move to resolve its debt crisis. Chicago Board of Trade December corn fell 0.5 percent to $6.48-1/2 a bushel and December wheat dropped 0.9 percent to $6.38-1/2 a bushel. November soy was down 0.3 percent to $12.31-1/4 a bushel. Wheat Wc1 is on track for a third straight week of gains, while corn Cc1 is little changed for the week. Soybeans have gained 1.5 percent so far this week after dropping 4.5 percent last week. Chicago wheat is likely to come under pressure with ample supplies from rivals such as the Black Sea region, which are giving U.S. exports stiff competition. "At the moment the market is getting a little bit depressed because of economic uncertainties that are still plaguing the world," said Abah Ofon, an analyst with Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. "Once we see those concerns recede a lot more focus is going to return to the fundamentals." (With additional reporting by Rujun Shen, Naveen Thukral and Seng Li Peng in Singapore; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

Source