Minneapolis Star Tribune- Hedge fund money streaked out of commodities Wednesday like a red-hot meteor, as large speculators worried about a firming dollar and the tenuous condition of the U.S. economy and financial institutions.
Debris from the flameout came from the hard and the soft commodities, all victims of the jittery market conditions that led big speculators to take profits and retreat to reassess their positions. Gold and copper were down sharply, and most grains and oil-seeds contracts dropped their daily exchange-imposed trading limits.
Analysts said the funds were nervous about reduced credit lines from banks, a shaky economy and technical weakness in many markets. Those fears combined to force funds to reduce their risk exposure in the market, analysts said.
