The ThomsonReuters/Jefferies CRB index of 19 major commodities was down 16.88 points, or 4.7%, to 341.75 at about 2:15 pm. EDT, the biggest drop this year and the fourth straight day of declines.
Crude oil is one of the day’s biggest losers, with near-term futures in New York falling more than 9.0% and is now trading just under $100.00 per barrel.
Eighteen of the 19 raw materials in the CRB index were down for the day. Only hog futures were trading higher.
The dollar staged its biggest rebound of the year. The euro, which has been soaring against the dollar, slid 1.8% to $1.456 from $1.483.
The across the board declines in commodities is a sharp reversal from the strength they have shown since it became clear last August that the Federal Reserve was launching QE2. During the peak period in the 4th quarter of 2010, M2 money supply growth reached 7% on an annualized basis, since then it has slowed to 4.4%.
Whether the current decline will simply look down the road like a technical reaction to an overbought position or the start of a long term decline will depend on money growth from here.
Will this have any significant effect on gasoline prices or will they remain where they are? About $3.81 for the cheap stuff where I live.
ReplyDeleteGold and Silver have been going down all week.
ReplyDeleteWere they intentionally bid up, so they could be brought down ?
This steady downward trend makes no sense to me.
No chance today's plunge in crude futures will have any effect on gasoline prices in the near term
ReplyDeleteMaybe someone figured out that gas prices over $4 aren't exactly good for the job market.
ReplyDelete