Commodities Suffer in 2014 Because of Strong U.S. Dollar

Commodities declined to the lowest in almost eight months as the dollar advanced on speculation that the Federal Reserve will increase interest rates next year, curbing demand for raw materials.

The Bloomberg Commodity Index (BCOM) that tracks 22 futures lost as much as 0.7% to 123.4334, the lowest since Jan. 10 and settled at 123.4755 in New York. Nickel tumbled the most since May, corn traded at a four-year low and Brent crude dropped to the lowest in 17 months.

The dollar, as measured by the Bloomberg spot index that tracks the greenback against 10 peers, climbed to a 14-month high before U.S. data this week forecast to show jobless claims fell and retail sales improved. Fed policy makers will meet on Sept. 16-17. Advances in the greenback make dollar-priced commodities more expensive in terms of other currencies.

Bloomberg

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