Supply separates the wheat from the sugar

Commodity prices continued to fall in June. But while concerns about demand were the main driver in May, last month saw attention shift to the prospects for supply. This explains the divergence between the prices of industrial metals, which generally held up well, and those of oil and most agriculturals, which dropped further. Supply-side developments also explain why some agricultural prices fell relatively sharply (e.g. wheat, corn) while others rose (e.g. sugar).