It was carnage across the commodity space, oil collapsed into free-fall diving more than 10% & the Nymex crude prices slipping below the USD 100 a barrel mark. The resurgent dollar, coupled with demand concerns & disappointing economic data weighed on sentiment. Brent prices too dropped to USD 111 a barrel levels yesterday, which was trading at USD 112 a barrel, up 1.3% today.
There was a broad based sell off in commodities as the dollar surged on the back of commentary from ECB Head Jean Claude Trichet as well as short covering from its recent sell-off. As a result the CRB commodity index dropped nearly 5%.It was a free fall across precious metals too. Silver prices were shedding another 8% - heading for its biggest weekly loss since 1983, as panic selling accelerated across the commodities sector. The CME raising margins also weighed on sentiment. Gold too fell over 2%, was down over USD 95 from its recent all-time highs.Copper too nosedived more than 3% to its lowest level since December as fears about sputtering global growth and growing inflation risk triggered a vicious cross-commodity crash.Eric Stein, VP, Eaton Vance Management said, "In times like these its better to have a long term perspective. In the short term we think that the margin increases of silver are causing some other clients." Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
