Is commodities boom nearing its end?

The commodity bull has shown little sign of running out of steam – until now. Prices began to stumble as soon as a note from Goldman Sachs, the American banking giant, whizzed around trading desks across the globe last week.

The broker advised clients to close its profitable “CCCP” play, which involved investing in a basket of crude oil, copper, cotton, platinum and soybeans. The commodities team, led by Jeffrey Currie, argued that after gaining 25pc since December, the risks to the trade had changed.