These two Great Graphics were created on Bloomberg. The first shows the price of crude oil (white line) and the JOC-ECRI index industrial metals index (yellow line). The metals included are steel, copper, aluminum, zinc, lead, tin and nickel. The two times series were indexed to levels seen twelve months ago. They both moved largely sides for the first half the year. The divergence became evident in Q3 and accelerated in Q4. If there was a significant demand shock, the world economy slowing precipitously, one would expect a closer tracking of the two. That this did not take place, offers a prima facie case that ... (full story)