Oil Leads Quarterly Gains on Middle East as Quake Curbs Stocks
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Oil’s biggest advance in two years led commodities to a third straight quarterly gain as political turmoil erupted in the Middle East and north Africa, while stocks were curbed by Japan’s strongest earthquake on record.
Brent jumped 5 percent in March for a three-month gain of 24 percent, helping to drive the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Total Return Index 12 percent higher. The MSCI World Index of stocks fell 1.2 percent last month, paring its quarterly advance to 4.3 percent. Bonds were little changed and the Dollar Index, a gauge of the currency against those of six major U.S. trading partners, lost 4 percent.