Silver for July delivery added 1.8 percent to $38.53 an ounce on the Comex in New York, paring the month's loss to 21 percent, the worst since October 2008. CME Group Inc., the Comex owner, raised margin costs to curb price volatility after the metal climbed to a 31-year-high on April 25. The contract has more than doubled in the past 12 months.

Prices may fall to less than $30 an ounce, Dominic Schnider, an analyst for UBS AG's wealth management research, said in a report dated yesterday. The higher prices "cannot be sustained by industrial demand," he said. Silver is used in jewelry, electronics and photography.

Crude Gains

Crude oil trimmed the biggest monthly decline in a year after a pump-station leak forced the shutdown of the Keystone pipeline that carries oil to the largest U.S. storage hub. Crude for July delivery rose 1.5 percent to $102.06 a barrel in New York, heading for an 10 percent monthly loss.

H3 Global's Kaleel said he remains bullish on commodities, especially farm products, as supply constraints remain in place and demand from China continues to expand.

Data today showed China's Macro-economic climate indices, released by the China Economic Monitoring & Analysis Center and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., climbed to 102.11 in April, a six- month high, while industrial production grew at a slower-than- forecast pace in Japan and South Korea.

India's economic growth rose 7.8 percent in the three months ended March 31 from a year earlier, compared with an 8.3 percent gain the preceding quarter, the Central Statistical Office said today. India's inflation rate is the second-fastest after Russia among major economies.

LME Decline

The Dollar Index, which tracks the U.S. currency against those of six major trading partners, dropped 0.6 percent. Still, it's heading for a 2.2 percent monthly increase, ending five straight months of losses.

The London Metal Exchange index of six major base metals has shed 3.9 percent for the month, the worst for almost a year. Benchmark three-month copper headed for a 1.2 percent drop in May, the third consecutive monthly loss, as stockpiles monitored by the world's largest metals exchange climbed for a sixth straight month to 467,775 tons, the highest since June.

Copper futures gained 0.1 percent to $9,204 a ton. Nickel headed for a 13 percent loss for the month. OAO GMK Norilsk Nickel, the world's largest producer, said May 23 the market will return to balance this year from the 2010 deficit as production increases at a faster rate than consumption.