Commodity prices remain volatile after sharp fall

 

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Australian broker Jonathan Barratt says the price of oil still has a "lot more weakness"

Commodity prices have remained highly volatile, with prices falling sharply before rebounding.

It comes after markets were hit by one of the biggest sell-offs in two years on Thursday.
Brent crude fell 5.8% to $105.15 a barrel, adding to an 8.6% drop on Thursday, before recovering to $110.
Industrial metals also saw further sharp swings, as did cotton. But stock markets held up, suggesting fears over the world economy may be limited.
Copper futures were down a further 1.75%, following a 6% slide a day earlier, before recovering.
Meanwhile, the price of US sweet, light crude oil fell a further 5.5% on Friday morning to $94.63 a barrel, but then recovered to above $98.
Shares resilient Prices of precious metals - such as gold and silver - held steady during the morning, despite having previously followed other commodities sharply lower during Thursday's market rout.
Stock markets also proved resilient, with European shares mostly recovering from initial falls by mid-morning. Last Updated at 06 May 2011, 11:30 GMT *Chart shows local time

price	change	%
108.67	- -2.13	- -1.92

The movements indicate that fears over the health of the global recovery may be contained for now, despite disappointing data on US benefit claims and German industrial orders.

All eyes will now be on the US Labor Department, which will release April unemployment figures later on Friday.
The dollar also remained stable against other currencies on Friday morning, in contrast with Thursday, when a sharp rise in the greenback contributed towards the fall in commodity prices, which are measured in dollars.
'Scary' correction Analysts warn the volatility in the markets could remain.
"When you have this kind of damage, it will take several weeks, or maybe several months... for confidence to be rebuilt," said Dennis Gartman, author of a markets guide.
"It's not the end of the commodities cycle, not even close. You still have to call this a correction. It's a sizable one and scared the heck out of everybody."
However, other analysts suggest that it could mark the beginning of a more sustained fall.
Emma Pinnock, energy analyst at Inenco, sees the oil price dropping back below $100 a barrel within days if not sooner, as markets realign supply and demand.
"Ultimately the price increases that we saw of almost 12% since the beginning of 2011, due to instability in the Middle East, the Japanese earthquake and the nuclear crisis, were not sustainable," she said.
"The poor economic data released from the US and Europe has confirmed fears that the recent high commodity prices could affect global demand."