Oil, Gold, Copper Rise; Natural Gas Falls: Commodities at Close

The Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge (SPGSCI) of 24 commodities rose 1.4 percent to 654.09 as of 5:13 p.m. in Singapore. The UBS Bloomberg CMCI index (CMCIPI) of 26 raw materials advanced 0.7 percent to 1,531.225.

CRUDE OIL

Oil climbed in New York after manufacturing activity expanded in China and India and investors bet that further sanctions against Iran will curb supply.

Crude oil for February delivery advanced as much as $2.08 to $100.91 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and was at $100.82 at 4:09 p.m. Singapore time. The contract fell 0.8 percent on Dec. 30 for an annual increase of 8.2 percent, the third consecutive yearly gain.

NATURAL GAS

OIL PRODUCTS

Gasoil’s premium to Dubai crude rose 3.5 percent, the biggest percentage increase since Dec. 16, to $17.93 a barrel at 10:21 a.m. Singapore time, according to PVM Oil Associates Ltd., a broker.

Fuel oil’s discount to Dubai crude, a measure of refining losses from the fuel, widened to $3.86 a barrel from $1.55, PVM data showed.

PRECIOUS METALS

BASE METALS

GRAINS, OILSEEDS

SOFT COMMODITIES

Arabica coffee for March delivery climbed 1.2 percent to settle at $2.2685 a pound on Dec. 30 on ICE Futures U.S. in New York. The commodity retreated 5.7 percent in 2011, after advancing 77 percent last year and 21 percent in 2009.

Cocoa futures for March delivery gained 1.2 percent to $2,109 a metric ton in New York, halting a five-session slump. The commodity plunged 31 percent this year, the biggest annual loss since 1999. Output is rising in western Africa, the biggest producing region, amid concern that the European debt crisis will curb demand for the chocolate ingredient.

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