Commodity Markets: High Gold, Oil, Copper Prices Will Remain Problem for Fed

A new commodities boom is complicating central bankers’ anti-inflation efforts and may help derail prospects for significant interest-rate cuts any time soon.

Even before Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend stoked fears of a wider regional war and disruption to oil supplies, crude had already risen significantly this year. That advance, together with a renewed exuberance in markets for precious metals and other raw materials, has pushed the Bloomberg Commodity Spot Index to an almost seven-month high.