Sugar Prices May Soon Move Based On This Year's Beet Crop

The chart above displays annual refined sugar prices (cents per pound) using

By Hard Assets Investor: by Edward Faubert We examine performance of the major soft commodities during the fourth quarter of 2012.Despite a year of more quantitative easing, soft commodity markets slump amid newfound surpluses. Coffee

By Hard Assets Investor: By Edward Faubert Soft commodity markets saw mixed results for the third quarter of 2012 as money managers reduced their sugar positions, but added to cocoa and cotton. Other than cocoa, the sector continues to underperform, while other commodity sectors received a boost in the third quarter from the Fed’s QE3 announcement.

Tom Lydon submits: Better-than-expected production numbers from sugar cane producers has both sugar prices and the super sweet sugar exchange traded note (ETN) falling off its sugar high. The trend has taken a turn for the worse in kind.

The chart above shows how government policies have artificially inflated the U.S.

Cotton prices soared in New York on Monday after India abruptly banned cotton exports, a move that traders said could send Chinese buyers flocking to the US market.India, the world's second-biggest cotton exporter, on Monday halted all cotton exports to protect domestic supplies until further notice, with immediate effect.Cotton futures prices shot up on the ICE exchange in New York. The benchmark contract for May delivery rose the daily maximum of four cents in early trade to 92.23 cents per pound and held there for the rest of the session.

Carlton Chin, CFA submits: Recent months have seen a continued decline in the U.S. dollar and an associated rise in commodities prices. After a relatively steady climb in commodity prices since May, commodity prices spiked early in November. Gold crossed above the $1400/ounce level and crude oil challenged the $90/barrel level. Along with the rise in commodity prices, volatility has suddenly picked up this past week in the commodity futures markets.

ETF Database submits: Thanks to fears over the health of the dollar and ongoing supply issues, a number of commodities have tested new record highs in the past few weeks. Products ranging from coffee and cotton to corn and wheat have seen prices skyrocket as investors move more of their assets in this space to take advantage of favorable market conditions. However, no bull market can run straight up, as we have seen in recent days in both the cotton and silver markets, where prices sank by over 5% thanks to regulatory changes.