Boom in oil, corn prices seems to be ebbing

One beneficiary of the pullback, at least for the moment, has been Wall Street, which has seen a jump in investor inflows as traders shift funds out of futures and back into battered equities.

Consumers could also gain as easing crude prices begin to lessen pain at the pump. Prices have already fallen below $4 a gallon in some parts of the U.S., and prices for meat, dairy and other food products could follow if the trend continues.

Still, analysts say several scenarios could send prices higher again. For starters, any disruption in oil supplies, say, from a burst of violence in the Middle East or a major hurricane hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast — would rally markets.

Grain prices could shoot up again if crops produce a small yield due to flood damage or an early Midwest frost. And more weakness in the dollar or further calamity in the U.S. banking sector could boost safe-haven buying and send gold prices back toward $1,000 an ounce.

For those reasons, many in the financial world are wary of saying whether or not the commodities bull-run is really over.

“That’s the $64,000 question at this point,” said Tom Pawlicki, commodities analyst with MF Global Research in Chicago. “There’s a big segment that has been burned too many times calling tops on this market, so they’re a little hesitant to do it again.”

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