NEW YORK ( TheStreet) --Commodities and Turkish equities have both seen large price swings in response to the West's potential involvement in Syria.
The first chart below is of PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking ( DBC). This basket of commodities is most heavily weighted by gold and crude oil futures. Gold caught a bid on news that the West may intervene in Syria, because the uncertainty left investors fleeing riskier assets. The precious metal spiked at the end of August and is now retreating as the risk of war is diminishing. Oil similarly saw a spike as the fear over supply disruption caused many to bid the commodity higher. Violence in the Middle East posed a threat to trade routes and further tension meant that supplies shipped from the region could be in jeopardy. As with gold, the premium of war is quickly diminishing and the price of oil has dropped from its peak. Treasuries were also seen as a safe-haven buy during the crisis, and have since sold off from their lofty levels. With the Federal Reserve interest rate decision next week looming, rates have been driven up and the U.S. dollar has moved higher. On a technical level, the events of August pushed the commodity basket into a head-and-shoulders pattern. As commodities have sold off, prices have broken lower out of the pattern.
