Just ahead of the summer break, commodities prices were booming. The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global benchmark for raw materials prices, jumped almost 30 per cent in the first half of the year, the biggest gain in 35 years.

But the doldrums of July and August broke the trend and September is extending the drift to lower prices, with oil yesterday falling to an intraday low of $110.60 a barrel, the lowest level since early May. Base metals and agricultural commodities also fell.