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By Bloomberg

Crude oil fell with gold and copper futures in early Asian trading, raising prospects of an extension in the rout that sent commodities to a 13-year low. Most Asian index futures rose.

West Texas Intermediate oil dropped 0.2 percent to $50.07 a barrel by 8:46 a.m. in Tokyo, extending losses at a more-than three-month low. Gold futures for August delivery fell another 0.8 percent to $1,097.30 an ounce, as the greenback held near its strongest level since April against the euro. Copper futures lost 0.3 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures dropped 0.1 percent following a mixed day for U.S. stocks, while contracts on Japanese and Australian indexes advanced.

The outlook for precious metals and oil has soured as investors refocus on U.S. monetary policy, with bets that the Federal Reserve is moving closer to boosting interest rates fueling a resurgence in the dollar. Gold slid the most in two years during 15 minutes of Asian trading Monday, while producers of the metal sank to multi year lows. Japanese markets resume Tuesday following a holiday, with the central bank to publish June meeting minutes.

“Irrespective of whether weaker Chinese demand or the prospect of the Fed raising rates is the primary catalyst, what is becoming increasingly apparent is that commodity prices have been on the skids,” Mark Smith, a senior economist in Auckland at ANZ Bank New Zealand Ltd., wrote in a client note.

Futures denominated in yen on Japan’s Nikkei 225 Stock Average dropped 0.2 percent to 20,755 in Chicago, after adding 0.4 percent in the last session. Nikkei 225 futures in the Osaka pre-market were bid for 20,670 from 20,640 in Japan on Friday.

Chinese Futures

Contracts on Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index and the Kospi index in Seoul gained 0.2 percent, while futures on the FTSE China A50 Index, which tracks the biggest stocks in mainland markets, climbed 0.5 percent in recent Singapore trading. Futures on China’s CSI 300 Index dropped 3.3 percent, and contracts on the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, a gauge of mainland shares listed in Hong Kong, rose less than 0.1 percent.

Chinese stocks climbed Monday, easing concern over the stock rout there. The Shanghai Composite Index added 0.9 percent in a third day of gains, extending last week’s 2.1 percent rebound.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index slid to its lowest close since June 2002 on Monday, and mining stocks drove equity losses around the world, with selling heaviest among emerging-market resource producers. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. tumbled to a record low in Johannesburg and Canada’s Barrick Gold Corp. hit levels last seen in 1990.

‘Abysmal’ Outlook

“We’ve seen a resumption of a rally in the dollar, and if you do the math, that’s bad for commodity prices,” said Peter Sorrentino, a Cincinnati-based fund manager at Huntington Asset Advisors Inc., which oversees $1.8 billion. “The implications there for the hard-asset part of the global economy is pretty abysmal looking out to the rest of the year.”

The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback versus 10 major peers, was little changed after rising for a fourth straight day on Monday, adding 0.2 percent to its highest level since March.

New Zealand’s dollar strengthened 0.2 percent to 65.80 U.S. cents after data showed net immigration in the year through June climbed to a fresh record. The country’s central bank is predicted to cut interest rates for the second time this year on Thursday.