Continuing commodity crisis weighs on FTSE

Downbeat US employment data, gloomy manufacturing data in Europe and fears over further monetary tightening in China have created a toxic mix triggering a dramatic commodities sell-off. According to Bloomberg, the S&P GSCI index of 24 commodities fell 1.7% in morning trading in New York, with oil falling 2.3% and silver tumbling 7%. The 19-commodity Reuters-Jefferies CRB index fell 5% yesterday, marking its fifth biggest one-day fall on record. Silver, which saw its biggest one-day drop in more than thirty years yesterday, has now declined around 30% since last week. The sell-of...