To many developing countries, the trend is deeply worrying as well as bewildering —— the terms of trading have worsened dramatically for them. For the industrialized world, by contrast, the drop in commodity prices has been a real boon in the fight against inflation. The explanation for the general weakness in commodity prices is complex, and the factors in play will obviously vary greatly from one commodity to another. For example, while falling oil prices ought to provide a fillip to western economic growth —— and therefore, indirectly, to demand for other commodities —— they are bound to have other, perhaps less desirable, spin-offs.