Commodities Index Heads for Biggest Weekly Gain in 33 Years on Oil, Dollar

[Purveyor]

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities soared, heading for the biggest weekly gain in 33 years, as rising energy costs and a weakening dollar revived demand for raw materials as alternative investments.

Cocoa, silver and crude oil helped send the CRB up 3 percent to 403.15 at 12:04 p.m. in New York. A settlement tomorrow at that level would mark a 5.5 percent gain for the week, the most since July 1975. The dollar dropped the most in six weeks against the euro today and oil jumped as much as 5.6 percent.

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Chinese Demand

Commodities also gained today on speculation demand will increase from China as the country resumes work at factories and infrastructure projects that were shut or slowed during the Olympics, which end Aug. 24.

``China's demand is very important to the commodity markets,'' Hanlon said. ``Now that they're ready to start bringing back factories that had been idled, I wouldn't be surprised to see demand start to pick up again there. Their long-term outlook for growth and development hasn't changed.''

The CRB has more than doubled since 2001 as demand surged in China, the world's fastest-growing major economy. Mining and oil companies, farmers and other commodity producers have struggled to keep with rising consumption as harsh weather and labor unrest disrupted supplies.

``Until either a lot of supply comes on stream or the economy collapses, the bull market will continue,'' said investor Jim Rogers, who in April 2006 correctly predicted oil would reach $100 a barrel and gold $1,100 an ounce.

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BLOOMBERG: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=adS1jGB9mmq8&refer=us

[DJ13]

1. Just when it looked like we might get a break from high prices

I say the traders bidding up these commodities need to be taken into custody for economic terrorism.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

2. If we had a government, we would.

Instead, we presently have an Oil Anarchy.