Commodity sector hit by short-term growth worries

Release of emergency oil reserves has compounded fragility of commodities markets.

The unexpected release of Western countries emergency oil reserves wrong-footed many speculators. The move was ostensibly enacted to replace supply from Libya, but was also designed to prevent a significant increase in the price of oil. It showed the vulnerability of some commodities to actions by policymakers and compounded the fragility of commodity markets since the start of the year. Commodities markets have been hit in the short term by the worries over global growth. There are plenty of reasons for them to worry: the eurozone is contending with a potential default by Greece; emergi...