The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities climbed 0.2 percent to 668.23 at 7:23 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials fell 0.4 percent to 1,588.1543. CRUDE OIL Oil rose for the first time in four days in New York as U.S. crude inventories were forecast to drop, a storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico and a fire continued to burn at Venezuela’s biggest refinery. Oil for October delivery advanced as much as 87 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $96.34 a barrel and was at $96.10 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 11:27 a.m. London time. The contract fell 68 cents, or 0.7 percent, to $95.47 yesterday, the lowest close since Aug. 15. Prices are 2.8 percent lower this year. NATURAL GAS Natural gas fell for a fourth day on speculation that production cuts in the Gulf of Mexico because of Tropical Storm Isaac will do little to ease a supply glut. Gas dropped as much as 1 percent in New York today. The National Hurricane Center said Isaac, in the southeastern Gulf, will become a hurricane before reaching U.S. Gulf Coast on Aug. 29. About 48 percent of offshore output was shut yesterday, the government said. The Gulf accounted for 7 percent of U.S. gas production in 2011, down from 17 percent in 2005. OIL PRODUCTS The premium of Japan naphtha to London-traded Brent crude futures fell $20.33, or 16 percent, to $110.39 a metric ton at 6:33 p.m. Singapore time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This crack spread, a measure of the profit from making the gasoline and petrochemical feedstock, narrowed for the first time in four days. Gasoil’s premium to Asian marker Dubai crude rose 10 cents to $21.03 a barrel at 6:11 p.m. Singapore time, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker. The difference, also known as the crack spread, yesterday was the widest since November. BASE METALS Copper neared a one-week low in New York on signs Asian economies are slowing and speculation that U.S. policy makers will refrain from a fresh round of stimulus. PRECIOUS METALS Gold was seen gaining for the first time in three days in London on speculation Europe’s debt crisis and further central bank stimulus will boost demand for a protection of wealth. Immediate-delivery bullion rose 0.1 percent to $1,664.95 an ounce by 10:20 a.m. in London. Prices reached $1,676.90 yesterday, the highest since April 13. December-delivery futures were 0.5 percent lower at $1,667.20 on the Comex in New York. GRAINS, OILSEEDS, SOFT COMMODITIES Corn for December delivery fell 0.3 percent to $7.985 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade as of 10:46 a.m. in London. The price, which touched a record $8.49 on Aug. 10, has slipped 4.8 percent in the past five sessions. Soybeans for November delivery were little changed at $17.18 a bushel, after rallying to a record $17.605 a bushel yesterday. Thirty percent of the U.S. soybeans were in good-to- excellent condition as of Aug. 26, down from 31 percent a week earlier and the worst since 1988, the USDA said. Wheat for delivery in December was little changed at $8.8175 a bushel in Chicago. In Paris, November-delivery milling wheat dropped 0.1 percent to 260 euros ($326) a metric ton on NYSE Liffe. Rubber declined, set for a sixth straight monthly loss, after Japan’s government downgraded its assessment of the world’s third-biggest economy, hurting demand for the raw material used in tires. January-delivery rubber fell 1.6 percent to settle at 225 yen a kilogram ($2,865 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange. Futures have dropped 2.1 percent this month, extending this year’s loss to 15 percent. The February-delivery contract, listed today, ended at 226.1 yen after opening at 230 yen. Palm oil dropped on concern that a rally to the highest level in six weeks may crimp demand and as speculation intensified that there may not be further stimulus from the U.S., hurting commodities. 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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