Oil and prices fall in 2008 while corn and soy to rise; sugar down 14 percent in 2007, confounding “food vs fuel” doomsayers

Commodity analysts are predicting that 2008 prices for oil will drop, while soy and corn will continue to rise after spectacular gains in 2007.

For the year, Rick Mueller, an analyst with Energy Security Analysis of Wakefield, Mass, is predicting oil prices in the $80 – $85 range, with a drop to $71 if the US falls into recession. Meanwhile, the March contract for soybeans reached $12.03, the highest price since 1973, while the March contract for corn stands at $4.33, up 14 percent this year after an 81 percent rise in 2007. By contrast, the primary feedstock for ethanol, sugar, has been falling.

The March contract for white sugar on the LIFFE exchange stood at 13.57 cents per pound, with sugar down 14.5 percent for 2007.

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