The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Commodities prices as a class have been declining since 2011, according to the CRB Commodities Index.

Created by The Commodities Research Bureau, it is an indicator based on a wide selection of commodity prices; that is, prices for real-world “stuff” from burlap and copper to crude oil, wheat and zinc.

There are 23 different items whose prices go into making the numerical index for the CRB. Watching the chart for this index is to observe what is happening in the real world.

We all know that crude oil has dropped from $107 per barrel 14 months ago to a price below $43 this week. That i...