Monetary stimulus not enough to rescue commodity prices

The additional monetary stimulus from the world’s major central banks undoubtedly contributed to the recovery in asset prices, including commodities as well as equities, after the global recession. However, the boost would probably have been much smaller had economic activity not been rebounding too. If the global economic recovery disappoints this year, as we fear, the prices of industrial commodities in particular are likely to fall back even if monetary policy is loosened further.