| From iii.co.uk: Fear of a global slowdown has caught up with high-flying commodities stocks after a sharp decline in oil and metal prices, more gloom in the U.S. economy and a glimmer of deceleration in China.
"You've got an economic slowdown and markets are slowly coming to terms with it. Some of the speculation that was looking for safe harbour in commodities is starting to unwind," said Mark Konyn, chief executive of Allianz SE's RCM Asia Pacific arm, which manages about $15 billion. "Our longer-term view is still for a structural uptrend, because we don't see the demand easing at all and we still see some supply side constraints."
Investors have relied for months on China's boom supporting prices for oil, copper, aluminium and steel, even as the U.S. economy has suffered a housing crisis that has taken it to the brink of recession. Richer households in China and India have also contributed to a sharp rise in food prices...... Full Article: Source |