Commodities

COMMODITIES SELL-OFF WAS JUSTIFIED

Defensive companies have been out of favour for a long time but now a series of factors could push them back into the spotlight, writes Richard Jeffrey, chief investment officer, Cazenove Capital.

With 2010 proving a difficult year for equity income, the first quarter of 2011 has provided some hope for the sector, writes Peter Brunt, analyst at S&P Fund Services.

UK Leading Companies manager Richard Hallett warns against backing commodities too heavily.

Castlestone Management has suspended subscriptions on three of its Dublin-domiciled funds following an order by the Central Bank of Ireland.

A commodity sell-off sent the FTSE 100 down almost 2% at 3pm as investors dumped risk assets on European debt concerns.

Glencore International has closed its books a day early after its initial 530p per share offer garnered strong investor demand.

Slower global growth combined with the end of QE in the US has left commodities vulnerable to a further correction, Cazenove's Richard Jeffrey has warned.

The bull run in commodities is set to continue, despite the recent sell-offs and mounting fears some assets in the sector are overheating, according to asset allocators.

Commodities continued to tumble today on the back of global growth concerns, with oil and silver plunging to their lowest levels since March.