Commodities prices were heading for their steepest one-day fall in two years on Thursday, as investors fled the market en masse amid concerns about the global economy.

　　周四，大宗商品价格出现两年来最大单日跌幅。在各方担忧全球经济之际，投资者集体逃离市场。

　　Investors fear the surge in raw material prices is denting demand and forcing emerging countries’ central banks to raise interest rates to try to prevent runaway inflation.

　　投资者担心，原材料价格的飙升正削弱需求，并迫使新兴国家的央行加息，以努力抑制失控的通胀。

　　The sharp sell-off comes a day after Glencore, the largest commodities trader, unveiled details of its multi-billion dollar initial public offering. Some investors have drawn comparisons with the IPOs of Goldman Sachs and Blackstone, the private equity group, which marked the top of their respective markets.

　　在全球最大的大宗商品交易商嘉能可(Glencore)公布其巨额首次公开发行(IPO)细节后的第二天，大宗商品价格大幅下跌。一些投资者将此次上市与高盛(Goldman Sachs)和私人股本集团黑石(Blackstone)的IPO进行了比较——那两宗上市也分别代表了各自市场的最高水平。

　　The benchmark Reuters- Jefferies CRB index, a basket of commodities, dropped by 3.9 per cent, its biggest fall in two years. Excluding the volatile period of 2008-09 during the financial crisis, the fall in the CRB index would be a record.

　　追踪一篮子大宗商品的基准路透/杰佛瑞大宗商品期货价格指数(Reuters-Jefferies CRB)下跌3.9%，为两年来最大跌幅。若刨去2008-09年金融危机期间的动荡，CRB指数这一跌幅将是创纪录的。

　　“This is one for the books,” said Edward Meir, a commodities analyst at broker MF Global in New York. “Across the board you’re seeing a general unwinding of the commodity trade.”

　　经纪商全球曼式金融(MF Global)驻纽约的大宗商品分析师爱德华•梅尔(Edward Meir)表示：“这一笔值得记载。你看到所有人都在退出大宗商品交易。”

　　Gayle Berry, base metals analyst at Barclays Capital, added: “It’s a horrendous move. It just reflects how jittery these markets are.”

　　巴克莱资本(Barclays Capital)的贱金属分析师盖尔•贝瑞(Gayle Berry)补充道：“这是可怕的举动。这反映出这些市场有多么不安。”

　　However, analysts cautioned that commodity markets could rebound rapidly, as they have done after similar corrections over the past year. While high prices are denting demand, miners, oil companies and farmers are struggling to boost supply enough to resolve the tightness in the market. Economic growth in Asia also remains strong.

　　不过，分析师警告称，大宗商品市场可能会快速反弹，就像过去一年经历类似的调整之后市场的表现一样。尽管价格高企削弱了需求，但在另一方面，矿商、石油企业和农场主难以增加供应以解决市场的紧张。亚洲经济增长也仍然强劲。

　　The sell-off was confined to commodities, with equities remaining relatively unaffected. The S&P 500 index of US shares dipped 0.2 per cent by midday in New York.

　　抛售行为仅限于大宗商品市场，股市仍相对稳定。至纽约午盘时分，标普500指数下跌0.2%。

　　The commodities sell-off began in silver, which had flirted with an all-time high of $50 per troy ounce last week after a 175 per cent run-up in less than a year. Retail investors, who have been piling into the small silver market for months, scrambled for an exit to protect their gains. The metal has tumbled 25 per cent over the past week. Gold was off 2.1 per cent at $1,484 an ounce.

　　大宗商品抛售从银市开始。上周，银价创下了每盎司50美元的新高，在不到一年的时间里，飙升了175%。过去数月蜂拥进入规模较小的银市的散户投资者争相退出，以保护自己的收益。过去一周内，银价下跌了25%。金价下跌2.1%，至每盎司1484美元。