Exchange traded funds that target the agriculture and grains sectors have pulled back sharply recently, highlighting investor worries over a slowing global economy.
Over the past five days, Teucrium Corn Fund (NYSEArca: CORN) and iPath Dow Jones-UBS Grans ETN (NYSEArca: JJG) are among the worst performers in exchange traded products with declines of more than 7%.
The long-term fundamentals of these commodities ETFs may be intact due to rising food inflation. Still, prices of major farm commodities should ease from highs seen in the past year as the rally drives higher output, Reuters reported Friday.
India is setting the tone for inflationary pressures on food prices upon a global stage. Monsoon-season crop prices have been given a higher price tag for commodities such as paddy, soybean and corn. The country’s central bank has raised interest rates nine times already, reports Prabhudatta Mishra and Pratik Parija for Bloomberg.
The higher crop prices in India will “raise the floor price of agricultural commodities,” Shubhada Rao, chief economist at Mumbai-based Yes Bank Ltd., said, according to the report. “It will definitely add to food inflation.”
Wholesale prices of agricultural products are up 9% from one year ago, and the current jump in global food prices has put 4 million more people into poverty. As food prices remain a battle in India, there are no borders for the inflationary effects, which will hit wallets worldwide. [Corn ETF up Nearly 20% This Year.]