Nothing is more important to commodity markets than the larger economy. First, the U.S. economy was headed toward secular stagnation, then it was worrisome inflation, and now it is at worst an impending recession, and at best confusion.  The Federal Reserve had been on track for what had been assumed to be four interest rate hikes this year, the first arriving in March. The goal is to pinch back inflationary pressures before they get out of hand. Using the European measurement of inflation, the U.S. had an annualized increase in Core HICP (Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices) at nearly four times the Euro Area rate.  While demand for automobiles in Europe is down, higher demand is running into a short supply in the U.S. Inflatio...