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Oil prices have been soaring since 2003. In 2008, oil prices went up as high as $100, showing the vulnerability of nonproducing countries to dependency of the imports of crude. This situation forced Latin American nonproducing countries to reorient its investments towards the renewable energies, with the purpose of diversifying its energy matrices. The situation was different for producing countries with significant amounts of 3P reserves, because high oil prices increased their investments in exploration and production (E&P) activities.

The S&P GSCI, the most closely followed benchmark for investment performance in the commodity markets, registered its biggest one-month gain in May since Iraq invaded Kuwait in September of 1990. According to Standard & Poor's Index Services, the S&P GSCI increased 19.67% in May compared to a gain of 22.94% in September of 1990.

Fitch Ratings has commented that despite an expected decline in 2009 iron and steel selling prices, as well as declining worldwide steel production, credit ratings and Outlooks of iron and steel producers in Brazil, China, and the CIS remain relatively stable, particularly in relation to their peers in developed markets. In its special report titled, "Emerging Market Iron & Steel: Surviving the Downturn", the agency compares how declining iron ore prices in this downturn will likely impact miners and steel producers, considering their different business profiles, and examines the impact on their credit profiles and ratings.