In the past year the price of primary commodities has nearly doubled. The extent of the boom in 1973 is glaringly obvious from a survey of the major commodity indices:

Table indicating the world commodity prices in food, fibres, metals, miscellaneous, and all items, in July 1973, and as a percentage change on one year. All changes are positive, with the largest being both miscellaneous with 113.3%, anf fibres with 107.1%.

The other leading indicators also show the explosive character of the boom:

Table indicating the leading commodity indices in August 1973, and August 1972, in the financial times, reuters, dow Jones, and Moody's. Large increase by 1973 in all indices.

A commodity-by-commodity examination confirms the basic accuracy of the indices; only aluminium, wolfram, nickel and mercury have not shown a sharp rise during the course of the last year:

Table indicating commodity prices for different metals, in August 1972 and August 1973. Increase in price of all, including a £51 increase in gold prices, a 40p increase in silver prices, a £197 increase in zinc prices, and a £485 increase in tin prices.

The level of grain prices (shown in table iv) does not reflect the recent activity in the wheat market in Chicago and Kansas City, which left price levels above £55 per ton, but they indicate the rapid rise:

Table indicating commodity prices for different grains per ton, in August 1972 and August 1973. Home barley prices increased from £24.85 to £47.50, US maize prices increased from £25.75 to £56, and UK wheat increased from £28.30 to £54.50.

The prices of us and Canadian wheats have climbed throughout the 1972–3 crop season, the price of soya beans and oilcakes has doubled, while fishmeal (another major protein source) for the animal feed industry is virtually unobtainable after the failure of Peruvian production. The worldwide shortage of protein is reflected in the oilseed and vegetable oil prices shown in table v:

Table indicating commodity prices of oils, in August 1972 and August 1973, measuring the increase in all including groundnuts, palm oil, soyabean oil, copra, and oilseed groundnut.

The prices of the other major traded commodities have either remained steady such as coffee, tea, jute and sulphur or risen drastically as table vi shows:

Table indicating the commodity prices of miscellaneous goods, including cocoa, cotton, rubber, sisal, sugar, and wool tops, in both August 1972 and August 1973, with a noticeable increase in all goods prices, such as from £290 a ton for cocoa to £855, or 33 cents for cotton to 70 cents.

The distribution of gains has covered the whole of the undeveloped world from Zambia (copper) to Sri Lanka (rubber and coconut oil). Prices have risen in every major commodity group: grains, beverages, oils and oilseeds, fibres, metals and fuels. The gains to individual developing economies will differ enormously, but there is little doubt that the poorer capitalist world as a whole has gained substantially in 1973 and will gain in succeeding years. For unless there is a really major recession the present set of increases in the price of commodities is most unlikely to be wiped out in the period up to 1980.