Commodities dropped after the Federal Reserve reduced its growth and employment forecasts for the world’s biggest economy, worsening the outlook for demand.
Crude oil lost 2.7 per cent to $92.88 a barrel at 12.29 pm in London, zinc fell 1 per cent to $2,228.50 a tonne and corn dropped 1.9 per cent to $6.3775 a bushel. Gold for immediate delivery fell 0.7 per cent to $1,537.90 an ounce and the Standard & Poor’s GSCI gauge of 24 commodities slid 1.9 per cent.
The Fed reiterated a pledge to keep interest rates near zero and said it will complete a $600 billion bond-purchase programme as scheduled this month, even as Chairman Ben S Bernanke said the recovery is progressing “more slowly” than expected. The economy will expand between 2.7 per cent to 2.9 per cent this year, down from forecasts ranging from 3.1 per cent to 3.3 per cent in April, it said.
The central bank “acknowledged that the slowdown may not be temporary but offered no hint of further monetary support,” commodity analysts at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group led by Mark Pervan said in a report. “The cautious tone in the Fed’s statement dashed expectations of some looking for a hint of more asset purchases.”
Commodities rallied about 80 per cent in the two years to the end of 2010 as central banks worldwide spent trillions of dollars to boost growth and rescue banks from the 2008 financial crisis and economic slowdown.
INVENTORIES GAIN
Oil for August delivery declined as much as 2.9 per cent to $92.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. US oil stockpiles dropped less than forecast and inventories at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the New York-traded West Texas Intermediate grade, increased for the first time in four weeks.
“The fundamental story across the board is of limited growth,” said Jonathan Barratt, managing director of Commodity Broking Services Pty in Sydney. “We’ve got plenty of crude. It’s got to be a geopolitical event” to push crude above $100 a barrel again, he said.
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Copper, zinc and aluminum declined. Copper for three-month delivery dropped as much as 0.8 per cent to $8,940 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, and last traded at $8,970. Corn tumbled and wheat fell as improving weather boosted output prospects in the US, the largest exporter. December-delivery corn fell as much as 2.3 per cent to $6.35 a bushel.
The fall had an impact on India too. MCX crude oil futures hit the lower circuit at Rs 4,112 ($90/95).