| At $96.98 a barrel currently, Brent crude prices have dropped some 12 per cent over the last 12 months. Prices of US crude, on the other hand, have fallen nearly eight per cent. But falling crude prices seem to have inflicted more severe damage on prices of agricultural commodities, particularly corn, wheat, rice and soyabean. Prices of these commodities, barring rice, have dropped by around 30 per cent in the last one year.
Trade developments: There is a connection between fall in prices of crude oil and agricultural commodities. Let us look into these developments: At over $100 a barrel, crude oil leads to search for alternative energy sources. This is what happened in the last few years. Costlier crude led to people looking for alternatives such as ethanol (mainly produced from corn or sugar) and bio-diesel (from rapeseed oil and palm oil)...............................................Full Article: Source
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