Commodities prices surged yesterday as investors sought protection against the risk of higher inflation by buying everything from oil and gold to copper and sugar.
Plans by the Federal Reserve to buy $300bn of US government debt triggered the stampede into commodities markets, which had suffered sharp price falls on worries that the world was heading for a depression. For the first time in almost a year, traders looked to oil and other raw materials as a hedge against an unexpected jump in prices.
The benchmark S&P GSCI index, a basket of raw materials, rose 6 per cent as oil prices soared to $51 a barrel, up 7 per cent on the day, to their highest level since December. Copper reached a four-month high.