Commodities: From a $500 Billion Tab to a $200 Billion Windfall

ommodities: From a $500 Billion Tab to a $200 Billion Windfall

The impact of commodity prices on consumers' wallets continues to sink lower from its highs in early July. At the peak of the commodities bubble in July, the average daily impact of higher commodities was costing the average American an extra $4.77 per day in 2008 versus 2007 (or about $523 billion in total). Now just over three months later, that 'tax' on the consumer has turned into a windfall of $2.00 per day or $220 billion in total. While the $4.77 a day 'tax' surely hurt the already strapped consumer this year, the reversal to a $2.00 per day windfall should provide some relief.