Commodities Extend Advance as U.S. Retail Sales Boost Optimism

The Standard & Poor?€™s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials rose 0.6 percent to 647.15 at 12:36 p.m. in New York. Agricultural commodities led the rally. Crude oil rose to a one-week high.

?€œI?€™m a believer in global growth,?€ said Walter ?€œBucky?€ Hellwig, who helps manage $17 billion at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama. ?€œGiven the supply constraints that exist across the wide range of commodities, they are attractive, if you are betting on global growth.?€

U.S. retail sales climbed in July by the most in four months, showing consumers are holding up even as employment slows. China is forecast to sustain 9 percent growth.

The GSCI Index jumped 4.7 percent in the previous two days after The Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates at a record low and U.S. jobless claims unexpectedly dropped.

On Aug. 8, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recommended that investors buy commodities because growth in emerging markets is enough to tighten supplies.

Investor Jim Rogers, the chairman of Rogers Holdings, said today he is ?€œbullish?€ on commodities and owns very few stocks because of dimming prospects for financial markets as the debt crisis deepens in Europe and the U.S.

?€œIf the economy does not get better, commodities are the place to be,?€ Rogers, who predicted the start of the global commodity rally in 1999, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. Raw materials are more appealing because the world?€™s central banks ?€œwill print money?€ to revive their economies, and because rising demand will trigger shortages, he said.

Cotton rose as much as 4 cents a pound, the most allowed by ICE Futures U.S. in New York. Wheat in Chicago rose for the fourth straight day, heading for the longest rally since January.

--With assistance from Debarati Roy in New York and Chanyaporn Chanjaroen in Singapore. Editors: Patrick McKiernan, Steve Stroth

To contact the reporters on this story: Sharon Lindores in London at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ; Yi Tian in New York at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Authors: Commodities - Yahoo! News Search Results

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