*Gold reverses losses but still near two-year low of $1,321.35 Fed needs to see more from economy before scaling back bond-buying- Bernanke. SINGAPORE, May 23- Gold climbed off session lows on Thursday after weak Chinese factory activity jolted stock markets in Asia, sending investors back to the precious metal despite expectations the U.S.
SINGAPORE, May 23- London copper fell more than 2 percent on Thursday after a preliminary survey showed China's factory sector contracted in May, hitting sentiment already soured by concerns the United States may pull back on its bond-buying program.
*Copper rallied to $7,533.75 a tonne in the previous session, its highest since April 12, but remains mired in losses of 7 percent for the year. *The most-traded September copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange lost 0.75 percent to 53,080 yuan a tonne.
LyondellBasell Industries NV said Wednesday that it will buy back shares, increase its dividend and update its board. LyondellBasell said that shareholders at the company's annual meeting approved a plan to repurchase up to 10 percent of the company's outstanding stock.
Pan American Silver Corp. rose$. 09 or. 7 percent, to $12.37. Silver Standard Resources Inc. rose$. 15 or 2.2 percent, to $6.88. Silver Wheaton rose$. 53 or 2.4 percent, to $22.91.
Barrick Gold Corp. rose$. 13 or. 7 percent, to $19.50. Gold Fields Ltd ADS rose$. 08 or 1.4 percent, to $5.86. Newmont Mining Corp. rose$. 02 or. 1 percent, to $31.96.
NEW YORK-- Shares of some top chemicals companies were down at the close of trading:. Dow Chemical Co. fell$. 66 or 1.8 percent, to $35.12. DuPont Co. fell$. 81 or 1.4 percent, to $55.57.
Arch Coal fell$. 22 or 4.0 percent, to $5.33. Consol Energy Inc. fell$. 18 or. 5 percent, to $35.26. Peabody Energy fell$. 23 or 1.1 percent, to $20.94.
*Gold falls as Bernanke cautions about low US rates. *Copper hits 6- week high after no word on Grasberg restart. Copper hit a six-week high on a continued production outage at Indonesia's Grasberg copper mine after a tunnel collapse that killed 28 workers at the world's second-largest copper mine.
MEXICO CITY, May 22- Mexico sees total mining investment between 2013-2018 of at least $25 billion, holding steady or rising slightly from the previous six years despite the prospect of less favorable metals prices, Mexico's top government mining official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Hecla Mining Co. rose$. 04 or 1.2 percent, to $3.41. Pan American Silver Corp. rose$. 24 or 2.0 percent, to $12.52. Silver Standard Resources Inc. rose$. 22 or 3.3 percent, to $6.95.
NEW YORK-- Shares of some top gold companies are up at 1 p.m.:. Barrick Gold Corp. rose$. 34 or 1.8 percent, to $19.71. Newmont Mining Corp. rose$. 42 or 1.3 percent, to $32.36.
NEW YORK-- Shares of some top chemicals companies are up at 1 p.m.:. Dow Chemical Co. rose$. 07 or. 2 percent, to $35.85. DuPont Co. rose$. 18 or. 3 percent, to $56.56.
Arch Coal rose$. 01 or. 2 percent, to $5.56. Consol Energy Inc. rose$. 35 or 1.0 percent, to $35.79. Peabody Energy fell$. 06 or. 3 percent, to $21.11.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 22- Russia's Uralkali OAO would delay two of its potash mine expansion projects for as long as a decade if rival BHP Billiton gave final approval to building the world's biggest mine of the crop nutrient, Uralkali's chief executive said in an interview.
LONDON, May 22- Copper hit a six week high on Wednesday as a production outage at the world's second-largest copper mine looked set to continue, though gains were capped as investors digested comments on monetary easing from the U.S.
Barrick Gold Corp. rose$. 50 or 2.6 percent, to $19.87. Gold Fields rose$. 10 or 1.7 percent, to $5.88. Newmont Mining Corp. rose$. 70 or 2.2 percent, to $32.64.
Hecla Mining Co. rose$. 06 or 1.8 percent, to $3.43. Pan American Silver Corp. rose$. 41 or 3.3 percent, to $12.69. Silver Standard Resources Inc. rose$. 22 or 3.3 percent, to $6.95.
Arch Coal rose$. 05 or. 9 percent, to $5.60. Consol Energy Inc. rose$. 52 or 1.5 percent, to $35.96. Peabody Energy rose$. 26 or 1.2 percent, to $21.43.
NEW YORK-- Shares of some top chemicals companies are mixed at 10 a.m.:. Dow Chemical Co. fell$. 06 or. 2 percent, to $35.72. DuPont Co. rose$. 02 or percent, to $56.40.