"Commodities from copper to corn tumble on China crackdown, rising dollar"

" \n The prices of commodities were falling sharply on Thursday, cutting into months of gains and weighing on equity markets, as China takes steps to cool off rising prices and the U.S. dollar strengthens. \n \n\n \n The decline in commodities was widespread, with futures prices for palladium and platinum falling more than 11% and 7%, respectively, along with declines of nearly 6% for corn futures and 4.8% for contracts tied to copper . Oil prices were also down more than 1%. \n \n\n \n Thursday\u2019s move continued a slide that began earlier in the week, thanks in part to actions by Chinese regulators.https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/Zwx9C\/1\/ \n \n\n \n A Chinese government agency announced a plan on Wednesday to release reserves of key metals , including copper and aluminum, according to Reuters. Officials in the country have also warned about speculation in financial markets in recent weeks. \n \n\n \n \u201cBase metals prices are melting as China\u2019s State Council escalates its crackdown against commodity speculators and hoarders by investigating [state-owned enterprises]\u2032 overseas positions and auditing futures firms to combat squeezed profit margins,\u201d Daniel Ghali, TD Securities commodities strategist, said in a note. \u201cWhile overseas positions are harder to police with warnings, this crackdown still has some bite.\u201d \n \n\n \n Read: Egypt\u2019s annual inflation accelerates to 4.9% in May \n \n\n \n The Federal Reserve\u2019s increased projections for inflation and rate hikes from Wednesday also could be contributing to the decline by putting upward pressure on the dollar and signaling that the central bank is closely following the rise in prices. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, has risen about 1.6% since the Fed\u2019s updated projections were released. Commodities often move inversely to the greenback since they are mostly priced in U.S. dollars globally. \n \n\n \n \u201cThe US dollar is probably reacting to bond yields moving higher yesterday and the prospect of an earlier tapering which would slow the supply of US dollars and this has led to a sizable decline in commodity prices across the board,\u201d Leuthold Group\u2019s Jim Paulsen told CNBC. \u201cCommodities have been a popular investment in the last year as investors have been adding some portfolio protection against inflation.\u201d \n \n\n \n Additionally, UBS\u2019 Art Cashin said on CNBC\u2019s \u201c Squawk on the Street \u201d that the Chinese government tightening its monetary and fiscal policies could be creating selling pressure for commodities. \n \n\n \n The fall comes after a strong first half of the year for commodities, fueled by increased industrial demand as the U.S. and other economies began to reopen as Covid cases declined. \n \n\n \n That rapid increase in prices may have made some of the commodities markets ripe for a quick pullback. Evercore ISI technical analyst Rick Ross said in a note on Thursday that copper appeared to be at its most \u201coverbought\u201d level since 2006. \n \n\n \n Also: AfDB to loan Egypt $113 million for energy efficiency \n \n\n \n The weakness for commodities rippled into the equity market on Thursday, taking a bite out of energy and mining stocks. \n \n\n \n \u201cRumors since Mar that CN\u2019s State Reserve Bureau (SRB) will release reserves of non-ferrous metals to market came true on June 16. Coupled with Fed\u2019s rate decision on Jun 17 (post strong May PPI) sent most new energy material stocks plummeting, down 5-10% overnight,\u201d investment firm Jefferies said in a note to clients. \n \n\n \n Shares of the Global X Copper Miners ETF were down more than 7% in midday trading, while Alcoa and U.S. Steel shed 6.5% and 8%, respectively. \n \n\n \n The commodities market had already seen unusual volatility in 2021 before the most recent sell-off, with lumber and corn being two examples of markets where prices had spiked to historic levels before losing steam. Lumber futures , which have been sliding for more than a month, slipped an additional 1.8% on Thursday. \n "

"Commodities from copper to corn tumble on China crackdown, rising dollar"

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