Why are the prices of basic commodities going up?

Question

I'm not asking about oil, but about food and clothing. I know that oil goes up because the Middle East hates the US. Right? But what about the major food crisis? Is it only because they're using rice and corn crops for ethanol? There's got to be another reason. Thanks. I will award the best answer.

Answer 1

It costs more to deliver our food to the stores, hence the price going up. I don't care about the 10 points, but just want to say, store up some food for your family so you will have something to eat just in case things get worse. Grains and beans would be best to store up... just in case.

Peace

Answer 2

But it IS about oil, the price of getting these commodities to the masses.  They have to be shipped/trucked/planed/trained from point A to B.  How about the US gets is oil from Canada and WE/US simply want to force democracy upon the middle east.  Yes, we seem to have to be forceful about living our way or surely sanctions will follow.  So, yeah, it IS more than Just oil.

Answer 3

someone wants to make a profit i guess

Answer 4

Dow just announced a 20% increase in all their prices due to the higher cost of energy to produce and ship products.  Oil effects everything so everything goes up with the price of oil.

Answer 5

Basic commodities prices are going up because  of new uses like corn for ethanol, part of it is because of war and production of oil decline and part of it because of increasing demand from the 2 billion people in China and India who have just found new consuming power through better living standards from their economic advancement. That's a lot of people that now need to be fed, buy cars and consumer items, provide electricity and build roads and buildings for. That means huge amounts of food commodities, coals and oil, and building materials like steel, iron and concrete being bought and used, thus driving up the prices.

Answer 6

Due to Scarcity, these are natural resources.

Answer 7

Oil prices do trigger off universal effects. Not merely USA but the whole world suffers an inflationary twist when oil prices go up. USA imports a good portion of its food requirements and almost all its textiles. import costs go up when transport costs do as a result of oil prices pushing up fuel costs. but that of course is not the WHOLE answer. There have been major disasters in China and Myanmar. this pushes up diversion of resources to relieve the distress. In USA, tertiary sector earnings tend to be inflationary, and set off spirals upward. USA's balance of trade and payments is adverse. Most importantly, USA has a consumerist culture, and demand is not price sensitive; so, demand continues to be high. so, you can see that it is a whole complex of factors that cause the increase in commodity prices, especially food and clothing, in USA>