Crude oil and copper paced a rebound in commodities from an eight-month low after the Federal Reserve pledged to keep its benchmark interest rate at a record low for a further two years to bolster the economy, boosting stocks.
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) GSCI Spot Index of 24 commodities surged as much as 2.5 per cent to 629.6, the most since July 7. The gauge fell to 598.5 yesterday, the lowest level since December 2. Oil jumped as much as four per cent after falling to a 10-month low yesterday and copper gained as much as 3.1 per cent, the first rise in six days.
“Commodities are tracking equities,” Mark Pervan, head of commodities research at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, said on WEdnesday by phone from Melbourne. “Commodities’ fundamentals, both in supply and demand, are stronger than equities anyway, and that created propensity to buy on dips.”
The Fed’s decision yesterday represents its biggest effort since November to revive confidence, while stopping short of a third round of asset purchases after S&P’s cut the rating of the US’s long-term debt last week. The Federal Open Market Committee is “prepared to employ” extra tools to bolster an economy hobbled by weak hiring, it said yesterday.
US stocks rallied by the most in more than two years yesterday after the Fed’s statement and those in Asia climbed for the first day in seven on Wednesday. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 2.3 per cent as of 3:05 pm in Tokyo. Commodities also gained as China, the top buyer of copper and aluminum, may join Asian nations from South Korea to India in delaying interest-rate increases in a bid to help stabilise financial markets, according to Bloomberg News surveys.
CHINESE RATES
The People’s Bank of China will leave borrowing costs unchanged for the rest of this year, according to eight of 10 analysts surveyed yesterday. Economists’ median forecast is for South Korea to extend a pause for a second month tomorrow, while Indonesia left interest rates unchanged yesterday.
Crude oil for September delivery climbed 2.8 per cent to $81.6 a barrel at 7:37 am in London. Oil was also supported by a report from the American Petroleum Institute that showed inventories declined by the most since June. Still, the rally in commodities may not be sustained as concerns persist that the recovery in global economy may falter, according to Brenton Saunders at Sydney-based Taurus Funds Management Pty.
“We haven’t fixed any of the problems yet, and it’s hard to imagine that the uncertainties will go away any time soon,” Saunders said.
“The Fed statement is very unsurprising and guarded. If they did have more flexibility to fix the economy they would have said more.”
GOLD GAINS
Gold gained for a fourth day as the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates low boosted demand for the metal as a haven. Immediate-delivery bullion, which climbed to a record $1,780.1 an ounce yesterday, traded 0.7 per cent higher at $1,752.
“As long as rates stay low, particularly US dollar, it will help to support gold, if not push it higher,” Darren Heathcote, head of trading at Investec Bank (Australia) Ltd, said by phone from Sydney.
Copper for delivery in three months gained as much as 3.1 per cent to $9,005 per metric ton, the biggest increase since June 14. Nickel climbed as much as 4 per cent to $22,050 a ton, most since April 20.
Wheat for December delivery gained 1.9 per cent to $7.175 per bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn for December delivery advanced 1.2 per cent to $6.97 a bushel and soybeans increased 1.1 per cent to $13.145 a bushel.
