"Commodity prices had their biggest weekly drop in more than 25 years, led by metals and grains, on speculation that higher interest rates will erode the appeal of copper, gold and silver as alternative investments.
The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities fell 5.4 percent this week, the most since December 1980. The CRB reached a record on May 11, fueled by investor demand for gold and shortfalls of industrial metals such as copper. Oil declined to a six-week low today from a record last month as U.S. fuel supplies gained and tensions over Iran's nuclear program eased.
``The speculators are piling out of the metals,'' said James Vail, who manages $700 million in natural-resource stocks at ING Investments LLC in New York. ``There's been so much money made in this sector that people are trying to protect themselves. There was skepticism on the upside, and now there's panic on the downside.''
This week, copper plunged 10 percent, the most since October 1994, and gold tumbled 7.6 percent, the biggest drop in more than 15 years. The CRB Index dropped 19.46 this week to 342.29. It reached a record 365.45 six sessions ago."
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