The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 0.1 percent to 689.61 at 4:19 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials rose 0.1 percent to 1,604.8530. CRUDE OIL Oil advanced for a second day in New York on signs that the economy is improving in China, the world’s second-biggest consumer of crude. Oil for May delivery gained as much as 56 cents to $103.58 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $103.12 at 3:05 p.m. Singapore time. Prices fell 3.8 percent in March, narrowing the first-quarter gain. NATURAL GAS Natural gas futures fell amid concerns of oversupply and ahead of a seasonal slowdown in demand. OIL PRODUCTS Singapore gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude rose 79 cents, or 5.1 percent, to $16.29 a barrel at 10:35 a.m. Singapore time, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker. The spread has increased the most since Dec. 16. Gasoil, or diesel, swaps for May fell 38 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $135.37 a barrel. Singapore fuel oil’s discount to Dubai crude, a measure of refining losses from the fuel in Asia, narrowed to $5.23 a barrel from $6.67, PVM data showed. High-sulfur fuel oil swaps rose $1.75, or 0.2 percent, to $740 a metric ton. PRECIOUS METALS April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Gold may climb for a second day, extending a quarterly increase, as improved global economic data weakened the dollar, boosting demand for alternative investments. Spot gold was little changed at $1,669.57 an ounce at 3:10 p.m. in Singapore, after gaining as much as 0.5 percent earlier. Bullion advanced 6.7 percent in the three months to March 30 as the greenback dropped 1.5 percent against a six-currency basket. The dollar was lower against the euro today as European policy makers boosted a firewall to fight the region’s debt crisis. BASE METALS Copper climbed, extending its biggest quarterly gain since the end of 2010, on signs of strengthening economic growth in China and the U.S., the world’s two largest consumers of the metal. Three-month copper rose as much as 1 percent to $8,530 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and traded at $8,492.25 by 3:56 p.m. Tokyo time. The metal advanced 11 percent in the first quarter. May-delivery metal climbed 0.8 percent to $3.8565 a pound on Comex in New York. Markets in China are closed for holidays. GRAINS, SOFT COMMODITIES Corn rallied, extending the biggest gain since June 2010, after the U.S. government reported that quarterly inventories fell more than expected in March to the lowest for that period since 2004. Soybeans rose and wheat fell. Corn for May delivery climbed as much as 1.7 percent to $6.55 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the highest since March 26, and traded at $6.52 at 3:23 p.m. in Singapore. The price gained 6.6 percent on March 30 after the data was released. Soybeans for May delivery gained 0.8 percent to $14.1425 a bushel, after posting the biggest jump on March 30 for the most- active contract since Oct. 11. The price reached $14.16 that day, the highest since Sept. 12, and rose 16 percent in the quarter. Wheat for May delivery declined 0.6 percent to $6.5675 a bushel in Chicago, after jumping 7.9 percent on March 30. The grain climbed 1.2 percent in the first quarter. Palm oil reached 3,500 ringgit a metric ton for the first time in more than a year on concern that a forecast for a decline in soybean acreage in U.S. may reduce global vegetable oil supplies. June-delivery palm oil surged as much as 2.7 percent to 3,527 ringgit ($1,154) per metric ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the highest price for a most-active contract since March 10, 2011, and ended the morning session at 3,525 ringgit in Kuala Lumpur. Futures climbed 8.1 percent in the quarter ended March 31. Rubber extended its biggest quarterly advance since the end of 2010 on optimism that strengthening economic growth in China and the U.S. will boost demand for the raw material used to make tires. To contact the reporter on this story: Christian Schmollinger in Singapore at christian.s@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net

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