The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rises 0.2 percent to 645.61 at 5:01 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials gains 0.2 percent to 1,535.493. CRUDE OIL West Texas Intermediate oil traded near the lowest level in two days after U.S. crude stockpiles rose almost five times more than forecast. The Brent pipeline system remained shut a fifth day. WTI for April delivery was at $90.35 a barrel, down 8 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:13 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all futures traded was 36 percent below the 100-day average. The contract slid 39 cents yesterday to $90.43, the lowest close since March 4. Brent for April settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange was at $110.83 a barrel, down 23 cents. It dropped 55 cents yesterday to $111.06. The volume was 4.6 percent higher than the 100-day average. The European benchmark crude was at a premium of $20.47 to WTI futures from $20.63 yesterday, when it narrowed for the first time in five days. BASE METALS Copper climbed after a report showed faster-than-forecast U.S. job growth and the Federal Reserve said the economy is growing, boosting demand prospects for industrial metals. Aluminum and nickel also gained. Copper for delivery in three months rose as much as 0.6 percent to $7,738 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange and was at $7,725.25 at 4:48 p.m. in Tokyo. The May contract on the Comex in New York gained 0.3 percent to $3.504 per pound. PRECIOUS METALS Gold swung between gains and losses as investors weighed mixed U.S. economic data against the potential for more stimulus measures from central banks around the world. Silver fell for the first time in three days. Spot gold traded at $1,584.12 an ounce at 3:26 p.m. in Singapore from $1,583.90 yesterday. The metal slipped as much as 0.3 percent earlier. Bullion fluctuated as the euro rose against the greenback, while the Dollar Index held near a six-month high. Gold for April delivery advanced as much as 0.6 percent to $1,584.90 an ounce on the Comex in New York and traded at $1,583.50 after closing unchanged yesterday. The most-active price has dropped 5.5 percent this year. Cash silver declined as much as 0.6 percent to $28.89 an ounce, and was at $28.015. Spot platinum climbed 0.4 percent to $1,595.25 an ounce, and palladium slipped 0.3 percent to $744.45 an ounce. GRAINS, OILSEEDS, SOFT COMMODITIES Corn rebounded from a one-week low on speculation that the U.S. government may lower its estimates of global supply and as port bottlenecks delayed deliveries from Brazil, set to be the world’s largest shipper this year. The contract for May delivery rose 0.4 percent to $6.91 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade after losing 2.9 percent yesterday to settle at the lowest level since Feb. 25. Futures traded at a premium to wheat for a fourth straight day. Wheat, which added 0.4 percent to $6.865 a bushel, had an average premium to corn of $1.40 in the past decade. Futures plunged to $6.80 a bushel yesterday, the lowest level since June 22. Soybeans for delivery in May slipped 0.2 to $14.6375 a bushel in Chicago on a trading volume that was 49 percent below the 100-day average for that time of day. Rubber climbed to a one-week high as a better-than- estimated jump in U.S. jobs boosted the dollar against Japan’s currency, raising the appeal of contracts in yen. The contract for delivery in August increased 0.8 percent to 291.5 yen a kilogram ($3,104 a metric ton) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the highest settlement since Feb. 28. Futures pared this year’s loss to 3.6 percent. Palm oil gains as much as 1 percent to 2,422 ringgit a ton, erasing earlier losses. May-delivery contract was at 2,419 ringgit/ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange at 3:53 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur. Futures earlier dropped as much as 0.6 percent in intraday trading. 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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