(Houston)

The commodities boom has been going on since at least late last year, but the big question is where the booms in many underlying raw materials can last. At least as it concerns major commodities like oil, minerals, and lumber, the answer is a big yes. The reason why is that the current boom has to do with underinvestment in production over the last 18 months, a problem that is hard to solve quickly. This means demand will outstrip supply for the foreseeable future in many areas. Lumber is a good example, where underinvestment has led to soaring prices.

FINSUM: Capital has not been adequately invested to meet the demand of consumers and prices are showing it. Equilibrium will take some find to find. There is a nice runway for commodities.