Commodities tank to 5-year low on strong greenback, weaker China
Commodities are 12% lower this quarter, set for the biggest such loss since the financial crisis in 2008
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Commodities extended declines to a five-year low on speculation the strengthening dollar and signs of slowdown in China will curb demand for raw materials.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has climbed for the past five weeks and Chinese data from industrial production to manufacturing was below economists forecasts.
“We’re seeing a kind of mental capitulation by investors,” Jon Bergtheil, an analyst at Citigroup Inc. in London, said by telephone Monday. “The fundamentals are getting worse. The strong dollar because commodities are measured in dollars is normally bad news for commodities.”
The Bloomberg Commodity Index dropped 0.5% to 118.8843 by 8:55 a.m. in New York after earlier Monday trading at the lowest since July 17, 2009. Nickel led declines with a 2.8% drop, and cotton retreated 2.3%.
Gold fell as much as 0.6% to $1,208.80 an ounce, the lowest since Jan. 2, silver sank to a four-year low and platinum dropped to the lowest this year.
Brent crude for November delivery was down $1.85 at $96.54 a barrel at 11:32 a.m.
U.S. October crude futures fell $1.11 to $91.30 a barrel, down for a fourth consecutive session ahead of the contract’s expiration on Monday.
Commodities are 12% lower this quarter, set for the biggest such loss since the financial crisis in 2008. China’s Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said in a statement Sunday that growth in Asia’s largest economy faces downward pressure.
“We are looking at a downturn right now as China continues to disappoint,” Justin Smirk, a senior economist at Westpac Banking Corp., said today by phone from Sydney. “It’s about the uncertainty that people are worried about.”
A preliminary reading on the HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics China Purchasing Managers’ Index for September will probably show a drop to 50 from 50.2 in August. A reading above 50 shows expansion. The report is due Tuesday.
Bloomberg.com
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