BLOOMBERG: Commodities plunged the most since 2009, led by oil and silver, and stocks posted the biggest three-day drop since March as selling of energy futures drove down equities. The dollar strengthened and Treasuries jumped.
The Standard & Poor’s GSCI index of 24 commodities sank 6.5 percent at 4:32 p.m. in New York and has lost 9.9 percent this week. Oil tumbled 8.6 percent, the most in two years, to $99.80 a barrel. Silver dropped 8 percent, extending the biggest four- day slump since 1983 to 25 percent. The MSCI All-Country World Index of shares in 45 nations fell 1.1 percent. The dollar rose 2 percent versus the euro, making commodities quoted in the greenback more expensive for holders of other currencies. .
The U.S. said claims for employment benefits jumped to 474,000 last week amid auto-plant shutdowns, exceeding the median economist estimate of 410,000 in a Bloomberg survey, while worker productivity declined. The data raised concern about the world’s biggest economy a day before the Labor Department may say nonfarm payrolls increased 185,000 in April after gaining 216,000 the previous month, according to the median forecast of 84 economists surveyed by Bloomberg… (more)
