BLBG: Crude, Copper Advance, Gold Declines: Commodities at Close
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 0.3 percent to 681.86 at 7:46 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials climbed 0.5 percent to 1,584.597.
CRUDE OIL
Oil rose to its highest price in a week in New York after gasoline stockpiles declined more than forecast in the U.S., the world’s biggest user of the fuel.
Crude for May delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose as much as 62 cents to $103.32, the highest price since April 5, and was at $103.08 a barrel at 6:16 p.m. London time. Prices are up 4.3 percent this year.
NATURAL GAS
Natural gas in New York traded below $2 per million British thermal units for a second day amid a growing glut caused by mild weather and record output.
OIL PRODUCTS
The premium of gasoil, or diesel, to Asian benchmark Dubai crude fell 9 cents to $15.81 a barrel at 5:54 p.m. Singapore time, according to PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker. This crack spread, a gauge of processing profit, narrowed for the sixth time in seven days.
Fuel oil dropped 10 cents to $4.81 a barrel below Dubai crude, according to PVM. The discount shrank $2.01 over the previous four days, signaling reduced losses for refiners turning oil into residual products.
PRECIOUS METALS
BASE METALS
Copper for three-month delivery advanced 1.1 percent to $8,131 a metric ton by 9:37 a.m. on the London Metal Exchange. Prices climbed above the 100-day moving average, a signal to some analysts who study technical charts of potential further gains. The May-delivery contract rose 1.1 percent to $3.678 a pound on the Comex in New York.
SOFT COMMODITIES
White sugar for August delivery was little changed at $618.70 a ton by 11:11 a.m. on NYSE Liffe in London, rebounding from a decline of as much as 0.3 percent. Raw sugar for July delivery rose 0.1 percent to 23.24 cents a pound on ICE Futures U.S. in New York.
Cocoa for July delivery dropped 0.6 percent to 1,381 pounds ($2,201) a ton in London. Cocoa for July delivery fell 0.5 percent to $2,094 a ton in New York.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
