Commodities Jump After Recent fall (USO, UNG, SLV, GLD, USD, AA)

Commodities were trading higher on Thursday after posting a sharp fall earlier in the week on concerns of less possibility of another round of monetary help.Natural gas on Thursday fell 3.6 cents to $2.105 per 1,000 cubic feet in New York after sharp increase in the weekly inventory. The government says supplies expanded last week to a level that's 60.5 percent higher than the five-year average.Crude oil for May delivery surged $1.17 cents, or 1.15%, to $102.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after hitting a 7-week low earlier in the session.On Wednesday, oil was down over 2.50% with a sharp fall in equities after the release of U.S. Federal Reserve meeting minutes and a flare-up in euro-zone debt concerns.

On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration reported that crude stockpiles rose by 9 million barrels in the week ended March 30, compared to analysts’ estimates of 1.9 million barrels. Gasoline inventories fell 1.5 million barrels, while supplies of distillates were unchanged. The analysts surveyed had expected gasoline supplies down 1.6 million barrels, while supplies of distillates had been seen down 600,000 barrels.Elsewhere in the energy complex, the May gasoline fell 1 cent, or 0.3%, to $3.32 a gallon. May heating oil was up marginally at $3.16 per gallon.
Gold for June delivery added $16, or 0.9%, to $1,630 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. May silver surged 61 cents, or 2%, to $31.65 per ounce. July platinum rose $6, or 0.2%, to $1,605 an ounce. June palladium climbed $8.70, or 1.40%, to $641.30 an ounce. May copper increased 2 cents, or 0.2%, at $3.81 a pound.
The U.S. dollar index recently stood at 80.05, up from 79.764 late Wednesday and as the euro weakened amid renewed euro-zone debt worries.

United States Oil Fund LP (ETF)(NYSEARCA:USO) rose 0.23 (0.59%) to $39.07, United States Natural Gas Fund, LP(NYSEARCA:UNG) was down 0.25 (-1.56%) at $15.81, SPDR Gold Trust (ETF)(NYSEARCA:GLD) rose 0.83 (0.53%)at $158 and iShares Silver Trust (ETF)(NYSEARCA:SLV) added 0.35 (1.15%) at $30.68.
Alcoa Inc.(NYSE:AA) shares slid 0.61% to $9.75 after the company said Thursday it will reduce its annual alumina production capacity by approximately 390,000 metric tons to avoid alumina oversupply in the Atlantic region.