Commodities plunged to their lowest level in eight months, extending two weeks of losses, on concern that the global share-market rout will slow the economy, eroding demand. Gold jumped to a record on demand for a haven. The Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index of 24 raw materials tumbled as much as 3.6 percent to 598.46, the lowest level since Dec. 2, and was at 611.73 at 3:30 p.m. in Seoul. The measure has dropped 5.2 percent in two days, extending last week’s 5.9 percent decline. Oil lost as much as 6.9 percent to the lowest in more than 10 months, and copper fell to an eight-month low. “The market is now worried about another global recession,” Natalie Robertson, commodity analyst at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd., said by phone from Melbourne. “The S&P downgrade of the U.S. credit rating has fueled a lot of those concerns. The market is also focusing on the European situation.” Investors dumped equities and most raw materials for the perceived safety of Treasuries, the Swiss franc and gold amid escalating debt concerns in the U.S. and Europe. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index, which last week entered a so-called correction after falling more than 10 percent from its May peak, slumped as much as 5.5 percent today, falling for a sixth straight day. Crude for September delivery fell as much as 6.9 percent to $75.71 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange and last traded at $79.08 a barrel. Fed Meeting Federal Reserve policy makers will hold a one-day meeting today as the unprecedented downgrade of the U.S.’s top credit rating fuels speculation America is headed for a recession. Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues may prolong a pledge to maintain record monetary stimulus, said economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co., BNP Paribas and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. “Until we can see some confidence coming back to the U.S. consumer, the situation is probably not going to change that much in terms of another strong price rally,” said David Lennox, a resource analyst at Fat Prophets in Sydney, who kept his forecast for New York crude to average $115 this year. “A recession would obviously have the potential to reduce consumption and that will place pressure on prices.” Group of Seven nations have said they will take every action necessary to stabilize financial markets after S&P lowered the U.S. rating by one level to AA+. The European Central Bank started buying Italian and Spanish bonds. China’s exports will be hurt “badly” should the U.S. debt rating downgrade spur a slowdown in the global economy, according to Credit Suisse Group AG. China Inflation Inflation in China, the world’s biggest consumer of energy, iron ore, soybeans and copper, accelerated to the fastest pace in three years in July. Elevated inflation shows that China is still dealing with the after-effects of an unprecedented monetary expansion during the last global slump and may have limited room for further stimulus. Copper for three-month delivery fell as much as 3.8 percent to $8,446.25 a metric ton and traded at $8,748 a ton in London. Gold for December delivery climbed as much as 3.6 percent to $1,774.80 an ounce, a record for the most active contract. Wheat for December delivery dropped as much as 1.9 percent to $6.8175 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Corn for December delivery declined as much as 2.3 percent to $6.7025. To contact the reporter on this story: Sungwoo Park in Seoul at spark47@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Richard Dobson at rdobson4@bloomberg.net

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