Following the recent dismal pending home sales report and ISM data release, the market sentiment plunged considerably dragging the commodities down with it. At the time of writing, crude contracts for August delivery dropped over $3 a barrel, trading in at $72.57. Today’s fall marks the fourth consecutive day of losses, wrapping up a tumultuous weak for commodities as well as equities. Besides high risk aversion in the market, the demand for crude is also faltering on Hurricane Alex, which is posing a threat to oil production in the Gulf of Mexico.

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