The focus for stockbroker TD Waterhouse has been commodities in the week ending on 24 August, with BP shares in demand.

Lloyds banking group again saw a lot of activity amongst TD Waterhouse’s 200,000 customers coming second in the top ten buy table and recording the highest number of sells.

TD Waterhouse said retail investors had been taking positions on mining stocks, oil producers and explorers.

Darren Hepworth, trading and customer services director, said: “BP was our most traded stock this week, accounting for over a quarter (28%) of the top ten buys making it the number one buy of the week. BP also accounted for 15% of the week’s top sells, putting it in second place after Lloyds Banking Group.

The oil major’s share price sagged in a week when crude oil prices dropped below $72 per barrel, the lowest levels for over two months.”

Other activity at the stockbroker in the oil sector saw investors selling shares in Rockhopper Exploration following the announcement of an unsuccessful attempt to find oil at its Ernest prospect in the North Falkland Basin.

Dana Petroleum entered the sells list in ninth position following the launch of a hostile bid for the Aberdeen-based company by the Korea National Oil Corporation, lifting Dana’s share price by 6 per cent.

Hepworth said: “Mining stocks also attracted our customers’ interest in a week filled with merger and acquisition activity.”

Resources firm Xstrata has made an offer for mining company Sphere Minerals and the Kazakh mining group Eurasian Natural Resources Corp announced the purchase of shares in Camrose Resources Limited which has copper and cobalt exploitation licences in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Eurasian Natural was number ten in TD Waterhouse’s top ten buys list, with the Indian steel and mining firm Vedanta Resources entering number nine in the list.

There was a similar story for Barclays Stockbrokers; although shares in Barclays were the most popular purchase for the broker’s customers. BP shares were the most popular sell and mining group BHP Billiton PLC was number eight in the buys list.

Anglo-Australian mining corporation BHP Billiton has made headlines this week after it announced an increase in pre-tax profits and pressed ahead with plans to buy Canadian fertiliser group PotashCorp despite opposition.

© Fair Investment Company Ltd