Chart Of The Week    September 13 2023

China Has An Outsized Influence On Commodities

The CRB Raw Industrials Price Index has been relatively stable over most of 2023. To the extent that the index contains non-tradable raw materials such as burlap, hide, rosin, and tallow, it is less influenced by speculative activity than the prices of other commodities such as copper, iron ore, or steel. In this sense, the CRB index is a better gauge of physical demand for commodities.