BLBG:Brent Crude Climbs; Wheat, Palm Oil Gain: Commodities at Close
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities rose 0.3 percent to 645.01 at 4:36 p.m. Singapore time. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index of 26 raw materials climbed 0.4 percent to 1,538.355.
CRUDE OIL
Brent oil rebounded from the lowest level in three months, widening its premium to West Texas Intermediate crude for the first time in four days.
Brent for May settlement on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange climbed as much as 77 cents to $108.22 a barrel and was at $108.07 at 4 p.m. Singapore time. The volume of all futures was down 65 percent from the 100-day average. Prices slid $2.06 yesterday to $107.45, the lowest close since Dec. 10. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $15.21 to WTI for the same month after falling to $14.93 yesterday, the narrowest gap since July 24.
WTI for April delivery, which expires today, gained 39 cents to $92.55 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The more-actively traded May future was up 34 cents at $92.86. The volume of all futures was 40 percent below the 100-day average. The front-month contract lost $1.58 to $92.16 yesterday, the lowest since March 11.
OIL PRODUCTS
Asia naphtha’s discount to Brent crude weakens for a second day. Gasoil’s premium to Dubai falls.
• Light Distillates • Singapore naphtha’s discount to London Brent crude widens 16 cents to $10.12/bbl as of 1:22 p.m. Singapore time, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. • April Japan naphtha swaps up $5.68 at $893.75/mt • April East-West naphtha spread at $14.71/mt
• Middle Distillates • Singapore 0.05% sulfur gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude falls 31 cents to $16.68/bbl • April gasoil swap falls 2 cents at $121.06/bbl • April gasoil swap trades 5 cents/bbl above May contract • April East-West gasoil spread at 75 cents/mt • Jet fuel regrade at minus 35 cents/bbl • April kerosene swap trades 3 cents/bbl above May contract
• Fuel Oil • Singapore fuel oil’s discount to Dubai crude narrows 8 cents to $5.06/bbl • April 180-fuel oil swap up $2.58 at $630.93/mt • May fuel oil swap trades $1.95/mt below April contract • April viscosity spread at $8.75/mt • April East-West fuel oil spread up 16 cents at $32.51/mt
BASE METALS
Industrial metals climbed from the lowest level in four months as an 8 percent drop since the start of February lured investors.
Copper for delivery in three months gained as much as 0.8 percent to $7,592.25 a metric ton on the London Metal Exchange before trading at $7,573 at 2:16 p.m. in Singapore. Prices fell to $7,486.25 yesterday, the cheapest since Aug. 21. The exchange’s index of six metals from nickel to aluminum dropped yesterday to the lowest level since Nov. 16.
PRECIOUS METALS
Gold held near the highest level this month before the U.S. Federal Reserve concludes a policy meeting amid concern Europe’s debt crisis may worsen.
Gold for immediate delivery traded little changed at $1,613.25 an ounce at 3:21 p.m. in Singapore. The metal surged to $1,615.76 yesterday, the most expensive since Feb. 26, as Cyprus rejected a levy on bank deposits needed to secure European bailout funds to keep the country in the euro. A fifth day of gains today would be the longest streak this year. Assets in exchange-traded funds rose for the first time in three days yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Spot platinum rose 0.2 percent to $1,560.50 an ounce after six days of losses, the worst streak this year. One ounce of platinum bought 0.9672 ounce of gold today, after trading at the biggest discount to bullion in more than two months yesterday, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
Cash silver gained 0.3 percent to $28.97 an ounce. Silver will be the investment of the decade, according to Eric Sprott, founder and chairman of fund manager Sprott Inc. (SII) Palladium was little changed at $737.15 an ounce after slumping 3.4 percent yesterday, the most since October.
GRAINS, OILSEEDS, SOFT COMMODITIES
Wheat climbed to the highest level in almost a month on speculation that this year’s slump in prices is attracting buyers of the U.S. crop.
Wheat for delivery in May gained as much as 0.9 percent to $7.285 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade, the costliest for the most-active contract since Feb. 22. Futures were at $7.2675 by 2:52 p.m. in Singapore, trimming the decline this year to 6.6 percent.
Corn for May delivery was little changed at $7.29 a bushel, while soybeans for delivery in the same month gained 0.5 percent to $14.1375 a bushel.
Palm oil climbed for a second day to the highest level in more than a week on speculation that a rebound in demand will boost exports from Malaysia, reducing inventories in the world’s largest producer after Indonesia.
The contract for delivery in June advanced as much as 1 percent to 2,438 ringgit ($781) a metric ton on the Malaysia Derivatives Exchange, the highest price for the most-active contract since March 12, and was at 2,434 ringgit at 3:53 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur. Futures tumbled 28 percent in the past year.
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