Prices continue to tumble. - As with oil, prices for raw materials are continuing the headlong fall which started at the beginning of the second quarter. The Dow Jones UBS composite index, which covers such things as oil, copper and cotton prices, has fallen 9% since the end of February. Cotton has fallen by 22% since the beginning of the year, steel in the United States by 13% in two months and 9% in one month in China. This downward trend reflects economists' concern over growth in China, where demand is dropping. China represents some 45% of global demand for metals, rising to up to 60% for iron ore. Demand is poor, too, in the US and the European Union, where the financial crisis continues. According to specialists, raw materials are extremely likely to continue their slide until early 2013. (IL/transl.fl)