Brent crude oil closed last week on $98.68 a barrel. Round that up, and it becomes $99/barrel which, for the mathematicians among us, is just one dollar from the magic $100/barrel mark. With fuel prices at an all-time high, large users of energy should be looking for ways to cut costs, whether through fuel efficiencies, reduced usage or alternatives. It's not just oil which has seen a sharp increase (Brent closed 6% up on the week), heating oil (6%), gas oil (5%), ethanol (5%) and RBOB gasoline (3%) all saw significant price rises on the week. In fact, all the energy futures we track were up significantly on both the week and the month. While energy prices were certainly the most visible trend over the past week, corn, with a rise of 9% over the past week, was the stand out price change. Elsewhere in foods; cocoa (6%), coffee (2%) and soyabeans (4%) all increased on the week. Basic metals, while the medium-term trend is certainly for price rises, saw a minor correction in price as aluminium, lead and steel billets all fell off in the past week. Nickel was the only big mover on the week with a 5% price increase. Lead is the biggest medium term worry, with an 11% rise over the past four weeks. So, the focus shifts from users of agricultural commodities (which has been the story of the past few weeks) to heavy users of energy. For the many companies who span both, times are indeed hard.

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