But now the dollar has fallen, and the very reverse has happened: commodity prices have continued to tumble from the peak they reached in the second quarter of 1984. When calculated in a more representative basket of currencies, such as the Special Drawing Right, the fall looks even more precipitous. In May of this year, for example, the IMF’s food price index was a further 10 per cent below its level in the second quarter of 1985. There are signs that the worst of the fall may now be over；indeed, one key commodity, sugar, has rebounded impressively from the lows of last year, though even the sugar price remains below the most efficient grower‘s cost of production, and its rally appears to have run out of steam. For the rest, no body is bold enough to forecast a major improvement either this year or next. The IMF, for its part, believes that the prices of most commodities will fall substantially in 1986—with only sugar, tropical timber and hides among the softs likely to rise significantly.
1.Why is S.D.R. adopted, generally speaking?
2.What does “rebound” mean in the text?
3.Which commodity prices will not fall in 1986?
