By Mark Shenk Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil, copper and corn rose as a U.S. government rescue of Citigroup Inc. shored up investor confidence and a weaker dollar enhanced the appeal of commodities. Oil rose above $52 a barrel, following European and U.S. equities higher, after the government guaranteed $306 billion of Citigroup assets. The U.S. currency dropped versus the euro, making dollar-denominated commodities more attractive to buyers. “All of the markets are intertwined right now,” said Bill O’Grady, chief markets strategist at Confluence Investment Management in St. Louis. “If equities are up, you are going to see a gain in commodities, even if there is no obvious connection. This action may restore some confidence in growth.” Crude oil for January delivery rose $3.28, or 6.6 percent, to $53.21 a barrel at 10:46 a.m. on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Futures have dropped 64 percent since reaching a record $147.27 on July 11. “The Citibank bailout is helping both equity and commodity markets,” said Tom Bentz, senior energy analyst at BNP Paribas in New York. “The dollar’s drop is also giving energy markets a boost.” The dollar weakened 2.2 percent to $1.2861 against the euro, from $1.2587 on Nov. 21. Metals Markets Copper futures for December delivery rose 12.45 cents, or 7.9 percent, to $1.7035 a pound on the Comex division of Nymex. Gold, silver, platinum and palladium futures were also up on the exchange. Demand for industrial metals and energy may be boosted by plans for a second Chinese stimulus package, announced this weekend. The National Development and Reform Commission, the nation’s top economic planning agency, proposed tax cuts, salary increases and larger housing subsidies. China is the world’s second-biggest oil consumer after the U.S. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 commodities increased as much as 4.5 percent today. The raw material index is down 57 percent from its July record. Corn and soybeans advanced for the first time in five days. Corn for December delivery rose as much as 4.1 percent to $3.5225 a bushel in electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. Oil ministers from the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are scheduled to meet on Nov. 29 in Cairo. Slowing global demand has left a 1 million barrel-a-day oversupply that needs to be removed by year-end, Venezuela’s oil minister, Rafael Ramirez, said yesterday. OPEC Concerns “We are worried about the direction of prices,” Shokri Ghanem, Libya’s top oil official, said in an interview from Tripoli. “We need to see if the oil price is falling because liquidity is leaving the market or if there is too much oil in the market.” OPEC’s decision to trim output by 1.5 million barrels a day at a meeting in Vienna last month failed to stem the decline in crude prices as the global economic slump slashed demand. The group supplies of more than 40 percent of the world’s oil. “We’re getting OPEC chatter signaling that they may cut 1 million or 1.5 million barrels a day at the Saturday meeting, which is supportive for prices” Bentz said. Brent crude oil for January settlement increased $2.83, or 5.8 percent, to $52.02 a barrel on London’s ICE Futures Europe exchange. Futures touched $47.40 on Nov. 21, the lowest since Feb. 22, 2005. To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Shenk in New York at mshenk1@bloomberg.net

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