Commodity Update -June 30th

This month we close out the 2nd quarter with continued signs of inflation as most commodities continue to rise after the recent pullback. Just look at the CRB commodity index continuing to hit new all time highs (20 year chart)!


Wheat is on the rise again, now trading at around $8.50; we don't really have the problems that we had last year, so we'll see if this price holds up. We saw a big run up in Corn to around the $7.60 level, and Soybeans to around $16.00, mainly based on weather issues. No real change in Rice.

Sugar is also rising with the last trade at around 12c. Cotton and Coffee also on the rise. I guess everything is rising!

Oil prices hit $142 -lots of media talk about speculators driving up prices. Heating Oil/Diesel is flirting with the $4.00 level. Natural Gas is now trading up to the $13.40 level (I mentioned it in the last post).

Gold surged past the $900 level again after the Fed meeting and the subsequent drop in the US Dollar. Copper rose to $3.88.

Bonds
The 10 yr Note and the 30 yr Bond recovered somewhat as investors fled the stock market, looking for a safe haven. FYI: Bonds are not a safe haven!

The Euro still seems to be in a trading range near $1.56. Likewise for the British Pound, and the Yen; the US Dollar Index fell a bit further after the Fed meeting. The Canadian Dollar is about even with the US Dollar.

Stocks did in fact break down (as indicated in my previous post), and had the worst June since 1930! See my Stock Market Blog for more details.

Note: Charts are 'live' so comments above refer to the appropriate time on the chart.

News Stories:
Oil prices top record $142 dollars
Corn’s underwater rally
Wheat Rallies Again
Wheat Rises for Third Day as Dry Weather Forecast for Australia

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