Crude oil and copper led a rebound in commodities from an eight-month low after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low for another two years to bolster the economy. The S&P GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities surged as much as 2.3 percent to 628.54, the most since July 7. The gauge fell to 598.46 yesterday, the lowest since Dec. 2. Oil jumped as much as 4 percent after falling to a 10-month low yesterday and copper advanced as much as 3.1 percent, the first gain in six days. “Commodities are tracking equities,” Mark Pervan, head of commodities research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said today by phone from Melbourne. “Commodities’ fundamentals both in supply and demand are stronger than equities anyway, and that created propensity to buy on dips.” The Fed’s decision yesterday represents its biggest effort since November to revive confidence while stopping short of a third round of asset purchases after Standard & Poor’s cut the rating of the U.S.’s long-term debt last week. The Federal Open Market Committee is “prepared to employ” extra tools to bolster an economy hobbled by weak hiring, it said yesterday. U.S. stocks jumped the most in more than two years yesterday and those in Asia climbed for the first time in seven days today. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 2.1 percent as of 11:23 a.m. in Tokyo as global equities rebounded from a $7.8 trillion rout. Commodities also gained as China, the top buyer of copper and aluminum, may join Asian nations from South Korea to India in delaying interest-rate increases in a bid to help stabilize financial markets, according to Bloomberg surveys. Chinese Rates The People’s Bank of China will leave borrowing costs unchanged for the rest of this year, according to eight of 10 analysts surveyed yesterday. Economists’ median forecast is for South Korea to extend a pause for a second month tomorrow, while Indonesia left the interest rates unchanged yesterday. Crude oil for September delivery climbed 2.5 percent to $81.27 a barrel at 12:14 p.m. in Singapore. Oil was also supported by a report from the American Petroleum Institute that showed inventories declined the most since June. Still, the rally in commodities may not be sustained as concerns about a recovery in global economy persist, said Brenton Saunders, who helps manage $1 billion at Sydney-based Taurus Funds Management Pty. “The Fed statement is very unsurprising and guarded. If they did have more flexibility to fix the economy they would have said more,” Saunders said today by phone. “Certainly we haven’t fixed any of the problems yet and it’s hard to imagine that the uncertainties will go away any time soon.” Gold Gains Gold for immediate delivery gained for a fourth day as the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates low through mid-2013 boosted demand for the metal as a haven investment. Spot gold climbed to a record $1,780.10 yesterday. It traded 0.9 percent higher at $1,755.50 an ounce as of 11:27 a.m. in Singapore. Copper for delivery in three months gained as much as 3.1 percent to $9,005 a ton, the biggest increase since June 14. Nickel increased 3.7 percent to $21,995 a ton. Wheat for December delivery gained 1.9 percent to $7.175 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn for December delivery advanced 1.2 percent to $6.97 a bushel and soybeans increased 1.1 percent to $13.145 a bushel. -- Editors: Thomas Kutty Abraham, Bloomberg News To contact the reporter on this story: Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in London at cchanjaroen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: James Poole at jpoole4@bloomberg.net

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