Securities gain as commodities jump

Argentine securities tied to gross domestic product are rising the most in two months as higher prices for corn, soybeans and other commodities fuel bets for growth in South America's second-biggest economy. GDP warrants climbed 0.32 cent last week to 17.09 cents, the biggest weekly gain since the period ended April 8. The contracts have soared 13.9 per cent this year, reaching a record high 17.27 cents April 15. The yield on dollar-denominated Argentine debt has risen 48 basis points, or 0.48 percentage point, to 9.3 per cent this year, while the average yield for the region's notes rose 16 to 6.71 per cent, according to data from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bloomberg. Argentina, the world's second-largest exporter of corn and third-biggest soybean producer, is benefiting from higher prices for the commodities. Corn futures jumped 11.3 per cent in the past month, while soy climbed 4.5 per cent. Policy makers project the economy will expand 6.5 per cent this year. "As long as we don't have a sustained downward correction in commodity prices, Argentina is good to go," said Aryam Vazquez, a New York-based economist at Wells Fargo & Co. "Argentina as a whole remains a positive growth story. You have your dips here and there, but I don't think it's going to be a major correction in GDP warrants." Corn surged to a record approaching $8 a bushel on signs that global inventories will drop as adverse weather slashes acreage in the US, the world's top producer, and demand rises for livestock feed and ethanol. Soy has gained 5.6 per cent this year. Commodities prices have risen 5.4 per cent in 2011, according to a UBS Bloomberg index that tracks the costs of everything from metals to agricultural products. From / Gulf News