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WHEN it comes to oil, gold and base metals, probably the best advice on offer is not to do anything until we see how this turmoil plays out over the week. Mark Pervan, head of commodity research at ANZ, said the past week or two had shown how easy it was to be wrong about prices for commodities. This index, which measures shipping rates of commodities, fell 10 per cent last Friday, as Chinese buying of Brazilian iron ore came to a standstill. David Moore, commodity strategist at Commonwealth Bank, agreed it was difficult to get any solid bearing on where oil prices were heading. Fat Prophets’ chartists are predicting oil trading between $US85 and $US95/barrel for a few weeks, but the company’s commodity analyst Gavin Wendt expects it to go higher in the longer term. read more

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In 2007/08 the commodity story reached epic proportions as rising demand, limited supply and volatile stock markets collided to send the cost of resources and agricultural commodities sky high across the globe. Including detailed chapters on the four main commodities; energy, precious metals, agriculture and base metals, this unique book gives guidance on how to invest as well as highlighting the potential route for the emerging market. The Commodities Investor Provides a Practical Guide to Making Money from the Commodities Supercycle – MarketWatch Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real Time Services , a division of Interactive Data Corp. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data . read more

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NEW YORK (Reuters) – Notoriously volatile commodity markets have seen even wilder swings than usual over the last couple of weeks, scaring some investors who have been drawn to the surging markets over the last few years. Still, industry data shows funds focused on raw materials — or those that at least have commodities in their portfolios — have weathered the credit crisis better than those involved primarily in equities and other non-commodity assets. Latest HFR data shows that hedge funds employing Macro (Total) and Macro (Systematic Diversified) strategies — which include exposure to commodities — returned 7. Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters. read more

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CHICAGO (AP) — Agriculture futures traded lower Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery fell 11. Beef futures traded lower and pork futures traded mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press. read more

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LONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) – A tumbling dollar has hit revenues of natural resource producers and triggered talk of using another currency to price commodities, but don’t expect a change any time soon. Escalating fears about the dire state of the banking system in the United States and rising chances of recession in the world’s largest economy, have already undermined the dollar. Over the last few years the dollar has tumbled against the world’s major currencies, touching a record low against the euro beyond $1. The euro has problems including the one-size fits all interest rate policy, which has wreaked havoc on some euro zone economies, fund managers say. Another problem is that a country such as China, with large export markets in the United States, would have to switch its export focus to the euro zone, to earn the currency that would be needed to pay for commodities priced in euros. Iran, the world’s fourth-largest oil producer, said in April it was conducting all of its crude oil trading in euro or yen. read more

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A broad rebound across the commodity sector, even as many speculators have taken to the sidelines, lends credence to the view that underlying supply constraints and strong demand were driving sky-high fuel and food prices — not the hedge funds and pension funds that many politicians blamed. Oil prices are back above $100 per barrel, and near-record prices for corn and soybeans are big costs to cattlemen, who have slashed herds they can’t afford to feed. Gotthelf at Commodex said gold, which posted a 9 percent, $70 per ounce gain last Thursday, traded back above $900 because of fears that the government would print more money to pay for the bailout, eroding the value of the dollar. The agency estimated the amount of commodity index trading was $200 billion as of June 30, of which $161 billion was tied to markets regulated by the CFTC. CFTC data show that the overall net long position held in crude oil futures by speculators declined almost 12 percent from July 1 to last Tuesday, the day after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and Merrill Lynch was bought by Bank of America. read more

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If Treasury pays market prices, there’s no particular incentive for banks to sell to it; and if the government pays above-market value, then it’s a taxpayer subsidy of dodgy assets, he noted. Microsoft, Morgan Stanley help stock futures off lows – MarketWatch Intraday data provided by Interactive Data Real Time Services , a division of Interactive Data Corp. Historical and current end-of-day data provided by Interactive Data Pricing and Reference Data . Intraday data delayed 15 minutes for Nasdaq, and 20 minutes for other exchanges. read more

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Credit Storm Hits Commodities – Barrons. THE HURRICANE RIPPING THROUGH the financial sector is creating havoc for commodities, too. Cash — with some money-market instruments excepted — is again king. The latest wave of banking crises has pushed copper and the base metals to multi-month lows and grains far off their summer highs; it has left crude subject to jagged price movements between $90 to $100 a barrel. Print Subscribers and Students , visit our specialized service centers. read more

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Congress must keep oil speculators in check | APP. To Opt-out text STOP to 4INFO (44636). For more information text HELP to 4INFO (44636). Copyright © 2008 Asbury Park Press. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy , updated March 2007. read more

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