BLBG:Oil Trades Near Highest Level in Two Days: Commodities at Close
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 0.5 percent to 646.01 at 6:54 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials advanced 0.1 percent to 1,571.60.
CRUDE OIL
Crude futures traded near the highest level in two days in New York amid concern that a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas may not hold, putting at risk supply from the Middle East.
West Texas Intermediate was little changed after rising as much as 0.5 percent. A cease-fire crafted yesterday by Egypt and the U.S. halted eight days of aerial assaults that ravaged the Gaza Strip and made Tel Aviv a missile target. Floor trading in New York is closed today because of the Thanksgiving holiday. A Chinese manufacturing index signaled the first expansion in 13 months.
Crude for January delivery was at $87.29 a barrel, down 9 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 10:23 a.m. London time. Today’s transactions will be booked with tomorrow’s trades for settlement purposes. The contract climbed 63 cents yesterday to $87.38, the highest close since Nov. 19. Prices are down 12 percent this year.
OIL PRODUCTS
Gasoil’s premium to Asian marker Dubai crude rebounded 48 cents to $17.66 a barrel at 2:17 p.m. Singapore time, according to data from PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker. This crack spread is a measure of processing profit.
The premium of Japan naphtha to London-traded Brent crude futures fell 27 cents to $97.01 a metric ton at 6 p.m. Singapore time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The difference, known as the crack spread, narrowed for the third time this week.
BASE METALS
PRECIOUS METALS
Spot gold rose as much as 0.2 percent to $1,732.65 an ounce before trading at $1,729.47 at 9:18 a.m. in London. Gold for delivery in December rose 0.1 percent to $1,729.30 an ounce in electronic trading on the Comex in New York.
GRAINS, OILSEEDS, SOFT COMMODITIES
Soybean futures for January delivery declined 0.3 percent to close at $14.0825 a bushel at 2 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, extending the oilseed’s decline to 21 percent since reaching a record $17.89 on Sept. 4. Still, the price is up 17 percent this year, after the worst drought in 56 years cut output in the U.S., the world’s biggest exporter.
Corn futures for March delivery dropped 0.3 percent to $7.4525 a bushel on the CBOT, leaving the price down 12 percent since reaching a record $8.49 on Aug. 10. The grain still is up 15 percent this year after the drought cut U.S. production.
Wheat futures for March delivery declined 0.1 percent to $8.5975 a bushel on the CBOT, the first drop in three days.
Cocoa for delivery in March added 0.4 percent to 1,593 pounds ($2,541) a ton at 10:03 a.m. on NYSE Liffe in London. Prices are up 2.6 percent this week. ICE Futures U.S. in New York, where investors buy and sell cocoa, arabica coffee and raw sugar, is closed today for the Thanksgiving holiday.
To contact the reporter on this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski in Singapore at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alexander Kwiatkowski at akwiatkowsk2@bloomberg.net
