Commodity Online
MUMBAI: These are trying times for investors. Should they invest money in stocks or commodities? Stock markets continue to be in nervous meltdown; investors are fleeing the Wall Street and Sensex Street. Liquidation panic has spread to commodities.

Still is there a chance for investors to stay put in commodities? Will the bull run in commodities resume, as Jim Rogers continues to predict?

We present you here the long-term perspectives for the most active and hot commodities--gold, silver, copper, crude oil and natural gas. Take a look at them and go ahead with your investment decisions:

GOLD
From 1998 to early-2002, gold prices stayed mostly below $300 per ounce with heavy central bank selling and little interest from investors. In April of 2002, prices broke above $300 and eventually traded their way to $1,000 per ounce by March of 2008. This has been an incredible climb and it is hard to say if it is over yet or not as world production is not increasing. The current range appears to be between $700 and $1,000?.

SILVER
From 1989 to 2003, silver traded mostly between $4 and $6 per ounce. In early-2004, silver broke to new highs and traded between $6 and $8 until November of 2005 when prices took off to new highs. In March of 2008, prices touched $21 per ounce, but didn't stay long. Will prices find support around $10?

COPPER
For over two decades, copper traded between 50 cents and $1.50 per pound. From 1998 to 2003, the range narrowed to between 60 and 90 cents. In December of 2003, prices broke above 90 cents and then, in July of 2005 prices pushed above $1.50 and rocketed higher, reaching $4 per pound by mid-2006. At this point, $4 looks like pretty strong resistance and prices appear to be weakening

CRUDE OIL
Its hard to believe now, but crude oil prices almost touched $10 per barrel at the end of 1998 as supplies were plentiful and several oil producers were losing money. Since then, world demand for oil has grown faster than production and you know the rest of the story. In July of 2004, prices closed above $40 per barrel at a new record high - that seemed expensive then, but it looks so cheap now. Lately, prices peaked at $140 per barrel and probably have support around $90.

NATURAL GAS
From 1996 to early-2000, natural gas traded between $2 and $4 per thousand cubic feet. In May of 2000, prices broke to new highs and reached $10 by the end of 2000. Prices then fell back to the same old range from mid-2001 to late-2002. By the end of 2002, prices broke to new highs again and are probably in a new range between $4 and $15?

Courtesy: Inputs from www.dailyfutures.com