The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 0.1 percent to 669.13 as of 5:37 p.m. in Singapore. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials climbed 0.2 percent to 1569.366. CRUDE OIL Oil traded near the highest settlement in almost a week as concern that supplies from Iran will be disrupted countered speculation Europe may enter a recession as it struggles to tame its debt crisis. Crude for February delivery was at $102.25 a barrel, up 1 cent, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 4:06 p.m. Singapore time. The contract yesterday climbed 0.9 percent to $102.24, the highest close since Jan. 4. Prices are up 3.5 percent this year. NATURAL GAS OIL PRODUCTS Gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude rose 57 cents, or 3 percent, to $19.79 a barrel at 10:20 p.m. Singapore time, according to PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a London-based broker. This crack spread is at the widest since Nov. 21. Gasoil, or diesel, swaps for February rose 5 cents to $129.30 a barrel, the highest since Nov. 16. Light Distillates Japan naphtha swaps fell $8.75, or 0.9 percent, to $950.25 a metric ton, PVM data showed. Naphtha swaps traded at a premium of $99.59 a ton to London-traded Brent crude futures, down from $105.55 yesterday. PRECIOUS METALS Spot gold gained as much as 0.4 percent to $1,638.55 an ounce and traded at $1,637.68 at 1:51 p.m. in Singapore. The metal touched a three-week high of $1,640.11 yesterday before ending up 1.3 percent. February-delivery bullion advanced 0.4 percent to $1,638.20 on the Comex in New York. BASE METALS The three-month contract on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 1.3 percent to $7,642.25 a metric ton and traded at $7,750 by 4:16 p.m. Tokyo time. The March-delivery contract gained 0.3 percent to $3.522 a pound on the Comex. Copper for March delivery on the Shanghai exchange climbed 1.8 percent to close at 56,860 yuan ($8,998) a ton. GRAINS, SOFT COMMODITIES, LIVESTOCK Soybeans for March delivery fell as much as 0.7 percent to $12.235 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Futures were at $12.2975 at 2:55 p.m. Singapore time. March-delivery corn was little changed at $6.5175 a bushel. Wheat for March delivery slid 0.2 percent to $6.3875 a bushel. The dormant winter wheat crop in the southern plains of the U.S. will have generally “favorable conditions� due to significant precipitation in most areas, Telvent said. Cocoa for March delivery rose 7.5 percent to close at $2,333 a metric ton yesterday on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. In two days, the price soared 15 percent, the most since Jan. 17, 2001. Orange juice for March delivery jumped the 20-cent exchange limit, or 11 percent, to settle at $2.0775 a pound yesterday on ICE Futures U.S. in New York, a record for the contract and the highest for a most-active contract since March 2007. The gain was the biggest since October 2006 and left prices up 23 percent this month. Hog futures for February settlement rose 1.1 percent to settle at 84.3 cents a pound yesterday on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the biggest gain for the most-active contract since Jan. 3. The price has advanced 5.8 percent in the past 12 months. 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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