This morning the big news of the day was the drubbing of European stock markets as fear spread throughout the region. Fear was generated by concern that some European countries could default on their sovereign debt. Among them are Greece, Spain, and Portugal.

Greece's budget gap is 12.7% of GDP Greece has to slash spending and may need IMF assistance.

Investors sold investment deemed risky such as commodities, gold and stocks and moved their money into bonds. This started a selling frenzy in commodities with oil falling $3.14 per barrel to $73.14 per barrel. Brent crude fell $3.79 per barrel to $72.13 per barrel.

Continue reading Oil Plunges 5% on Fears That European Economies May Falter

Oil Plunges 5% on Fears That European Economies May Falter originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After last year's crash, commodity prices have been sloshing around without too much direction. Oil has been a noticeable standout, however, moving from $32 per barrel to $74 per barrel.

Sugar has moved from about 15 cents per pound to 22 cents per pound, based on supply and demand factors.

Commodity traders are in a quandary about prices going forward. They are looking primarily at China and the U.S. dollar, reports BusinessWeek.

Continue reading Commodity prices hinge on China and the U.S. dollar

Commodity prices hinge on China and the U.S. dollar originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 24 Aug 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.