Agricultural commodities. Grain and oilseed
prices dipped in 2015, mostly in response to
well-supplied markets, with the agricultural
price index standing 33 percent below its early
-2011 high as of November. The stocks-to-use
ratio (a measure of how well supplied markets
are) for key grains remains well above its 5-
and 10-year average levels. Ample supplies and
the weak influence of global food prices on
most local prices, suggest that the El Niño
weather pattern, which some forecasts say may
be the strongest since 1997-98, is unlikely to
raise global food commodity prices in a
significant way (World Bank 2015c).