Commodity Charts Tell the Real Story
about the CPI and Inflation Rates

To do my research I did a Google search for Commodities and found the TFC Commodity Charts. These are international charts that anyone in the world with a computer can access.

To get started, I picked eight common commodities that people in the United States might consume on a day-to-day basis: heating oil, natural gas, unleaded gas, electricity, propane, coffee, orange juice, and sugar.

I went back to May of 2003, and noted the price for which each was trading. Then I went to May, 2006, and noted the price. I then figured the price increase over that three year period of time and came up with a percent increase over three years. The chart tells quite a story.

The actual percent increase over three years among the eight commodities was 106.6%. That equates to 35.5% inflation per year, each year for the past three years.

Real inflation rates
according to the commodity charts

These numbers were taken from the TFC Historical Commodity Futures Charts.

The Metals Respond to Inflation – A Save Haven for Your Money Then I obtained prices from the commodity charts for six metals, copper, aluminum, palladium, platinum, gold, and silver. Their increase over the same period of time from May, 2003 to May, 2006, was 164%, or 54.7% per year. Specifically, gold and silver increased 155%, or 51.7% per year.

Then I took a look at the stock market on the commodity charts. From May 2003 to May, 2006, the market increased by only 31%, or 10.3% per year. The only reason that the market appreciated that much was because of the disastrous effect of 911 when the market dropped to 7,600 and then started recovering from there. Wishing to factor out 911, I went back to the year 2000 and did a comparison. From May, 2000, to May, 2006, the stock market only went up 7%, or 1.2% per year.

When I saw the numbers I have to say I was shocked. And the chart tells the whole story. While the dollar has lost over 60% of its value in a little over three years, the commodities we use every day have been inflated over 106%, or 35.5% a year, not 3% to 4% as the government’s cooked number indicates.

Specifically, then, gold and silver have gone up 155% over the past three years. Gold went from $340 per oz. in May of 2003 to $730 an oz. in April, 2006, and silver went from $4.60 per oz. in May of 2003 to $14.10 in April of 2006.

Precious Metal and Stock Market Inflation Rates

These numbers were taken from the TFC Historical Commodity Futures Charts.

If you are concerned that inflation and the falling dollar are eating up your life’s savings, you should take a good hard look at gold and silver.