The Commodity Research Bureau (CRB) is an organization that tracks and reports on commodities prices. The organization has provided information to the financial industry since 1934, and it is widely followed by traders of bonds and commodities, along with economists interested in tracking market trends. Publications including projections of future prices are readily available to members of the public who are interested in the work of the Commodity Research Bureau.
Commodity prices are an important economic indicator. Viewed on their own, they provide information about supply and demand of commodities and can offer clues to future manufacturing production and other economic topics of interest. The Commodity Research Bureau explores commodity values across a range of industries to get a general overall picture of trends.
Rises and falls in commodity prices can also be useful to monitor for information about the economy in general. During periods of inflation, commodity prices rise and bond values tend to fall. A spike in commodities will be accompanied with a drop in bonds, making statistics from the Commodities Research Bureau useful for bond traders, as well as people who track commodities. Commodity values can also provide information about political trends; for example, a rise in the price of cacao beans may be indicative of unrest in nations where cacao is grown, or a sudden spike in a foreign commodity might reflect diplomatic tensions making it hard move supplies.
Since its founding, the Commodity Research Bureau has been acquired by a number of different financial publications in a series of mergers. This reflects interest among many companies in buying up organizations focusing on generating, tracking, and discussing financial statistics. The records of this organization, including economic predictions on the basis of shifts in commodities prices, represent a valuable historic and economic resource, especially when viewed in tandem with historic records kept by the government and other agencies.
Public statements and predictions by this company are often discussed in the financial media. They may also be a topic of interest in the mass media if a finding is particularly notable or remarkable. Bonds and commodities traders look forward to new publications from the Commodity Research Bureau to see if their investment strategies are appropriate and effective. Information from this company is important for investors who want to stay ahead of the curve by making predictive investment decisions with the goal of taking advantage of emerging market trends.