BLBG:Oil Advances on Iran Supply Concerns; Copper Gains as Asian Shares Decline
Oil rose from a two-week low, leading commodities higher, on concern sanctions against Iran’s nuclear program will curb supply. The yield on Spanish two-year notes fell to a nine-month low before an auction today and most European stocks climbed.
Oil rallied 0.7 percent to $101.58 a barrel as of 8:42 a.m. in London. Copper increased 1.2 percent to $7,871 a metric ton as aluminum, zinc and gold increased. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were little changed. Spanish two-year bond yields dropped 16 basis points to 2.94 percent. About four stocks gained for each that fell in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index, which rose less than 0.1 percent.
Japan said it may reduce petroleum imports from Iran, which has threatened to shut the Strait of Hormuz in response to sanctions on its oil exports. Spain will auction as much as 5 billion euros ($6.35 billion) of bonds due 2015 and 2016 today, while Italy is scheduled to sell 12 billion euros of bills.
“The geopolitical aspect is always popular for putting prices up,” said David Land, head of analysis at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The Strait of Hormuz action is probably regarded a long shot, but if it does happen, it’s going to be a very rapid spike in price.”
The European Central Bank may keep its key interest rate at 1 percent at a policy meeting today, while industrial production in the euro region probably fell for a third month, based on surveys of economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg.
S&P 500 Futures
Futures on the S&P 500 fell to 1,287.30. Chevron Corp. (CVX), the second-largest U.S. energy company, said fourth-quarter profit was “significantly below” third-quarter results after maintenance work at a California refinery and the sale of a U.K. plant curbed fuel output.
Infosys Ltd. (INFO) sank 7.5 percent, heading for the biggest decline since April. India’s second-largest software exporter cut its full-year forecast for sales in dollar terms, citing weaker growth in developed economies including Europe.
To contact the reporters on this story: Lynn Thomasson in Hong Kong at lthomasson@bloomberg.net; Kristine Aquino in Singapore at kaquino1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net
