March 21, 2005 Charts

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Thanks PT - really puts things in perspective.

With the CRB index starting a new leg up in its long term bull market trend, lets take a look at price inflation of a few raw materials. (These are all weekly charts.)

The overall composite Commodity Index:

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Starting with the most basic human need, to eat, to make bread we need Wheat:

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Next we like to wear clothes, which are made of Cotton:

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We need a place to live, so our homes are made of Wood:

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Aluminum is needed to make just about anything mechanical like: airplanes, cars, factory equipment, durable consumer goods....

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Finally to move all this stuff we need around, we need energy, Crude Oil:

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So the point here is, forget the government fabrication called the CPI. Look at the prices of raw materials, prices are breaking out on all commodities. Producers of goods and services are now faced with broad based price inflation for the things we consume each day to live. This will lead to hoarding raw materials, which will put more pressure on prices.