Silver & cotton lead pack in Q1

London: Brent crude rose almost 1% on Thursday, set for its largest quarterly gain since mid-2009, and the global economic recovery also put a shine on cotton, silver and gasoline in the first three months of 2011.

The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a measure of 19 commodities, was on course for a 6% rise in the quarter. Unrest in the West Asia has underpinned energy markets and outweighing an negative impact from Japan's crisis and rising interest rates in top raw materials consumer China.

Brent crude for May was up $1.22 at $116.35 a barrel by 1133 GMT, less than $4 off a 2-1/2-year high near $120 on February 24, and up 23% so far this year, having plunged to below $108 in the aftermath of Japan's earthquake. US gasoline futures were on course for a 26% rise this quarter, which has taken prices to their highest since September 2008.

The potential threat to supply pushed cotton futures up by about 35% in the first three months of the year. A US government crop report is expected to show sowings at a 5-year high, which could cool the market, but with prices close to record highs, this offered little relief to consumers

A Thomson Reuters survey showed US cotton sowings are expected to reach a 5-year high of around 13.21 million to 13.24 million acres, up almost 20% from the 11.04 million acres planted in 2010.

Global economic growth combined with geopolitical risk could continue to benefit silver, which gained 22% in the first quarter, in its ninth consecutive quarterly increase that has taken the price to 31-year highs above $37.00 an ounce.

With the price of gold around record highs, silver has been a major beneficiary of demand from investors who have sought out cheaper safe-haven alternatives. “Silver's seen a perfect storm with a combination of a positive economic outlook to boost its industrial demand, together with inflation risks, geopolitical unrest and natural disasters. Little wonder it jumped so much,” said a Singapore-based bullion trader.

Gold also rose on Thursday and was on track for its 10th consecutive quarterly rise, although the 0.9 % gain was its slowest since late 2008. In base metals, tin and aluminium were the top performers, with quarterly gains of 16 and 6%, respectively, while copper posted a loss of 1.7%, despite hitting record highs at $10,190 a tonne last month.

(Source: http://www.financialexpress.com/news/silver-&-cotton-lead-pack-in-q1/770065/0)