Traders drive commodities to record highs

Commodities are on a roll. The CRB index - which combines a wide range of raw materials - has hit a two-year high. Can it last?

Raw materials are on a roll. The CRB Index, a broad basket of commodities, has hit a two-year high. Oil is 8% up on last month, while the recovery in base metals prices "has been extraordinary", says Javier Blas in the FT. The LME index, which tracks the main base metals, is at a two-year high. Aluminium has gained almost 30% over the summer; copper has risen almost 40% since early June, leaving it less than 10% shy of its 2008 record high of $8,940 a tonne.

Tin, now around $27,000 a tonne, has become the first industrial metal to regain its pre-crunch highs. Tin and copper highlight why analysts are "almost universally bullish" about metals, says Blas. Supply has been struggling to keep up with strong demand in emerging economies, especially China. Goldman Sachs reckons copper could rise as high as $11,000 a tonne next year.

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