Commodity future good: Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers, who in April 2006 correctly predicted oil would reach $100 a barrel and gold $1,000 an ounce, said the fundamentals for commodities are “astoundingly” good.

The bull market for commodities “has a long way to go”, Rogers, 65, said today at an investor conference at the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. The bull market may end by 2020 based on historical cycles, he said.

The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index had its biggest monthly decline in 28 years in July reversing course after its best first half in 35 years. Agricultural commodities and crude oil may fuel the rally for five more years as global supplies won’t increase fast enough to meet demand, Pinpoint Investment Advisor said last month.

“We are going to have plenty of setbacks in commodities but when they happen please keep your heads about you, do some more homework, and if you decide that thing is still OK I would suggest you might think about buying more commodities,” Rogers said today.

Prices for copper, gold, iron ore and coal all rose to records this year on increased demand for raw materials from China and India. “By the time we come to the end of the bull market, commodities are going to be skyrocketing. They are going to be going through the roof, everybody is going to be investing in commodities,” Rogers said.

The CRB index slid 10 per cent in July, the most in any month since March 1980, when the US economy was in a recession.

Following that month the index then rose 30 per cent through to the end of November 1980, setting a high that wouldn’t be matched for the next 25 years.