The most recent economic “super-cycle,” a decades-long trend of rising commodity prices, has been influenced by the surging growth of China since the turn of this century. Now, as China begins its shift from an export-led growth model to a model based on internal investment and consumption, the super-cycle has slowed.

The Worldwatch Institute’s Mark Konold, Caribbean Program Manager, and Jacqueline Espinal, intern with the Climate and Energy Program, state that despite this change, commodity prices experienced a notable drop in 2013 but remained high compared to historical averages, suggesting that the super-cycle may have been and continues to be driven by other substantial global factors.

How deeply has China affected global energy markets and what factors, including environmental and energy factors, are currently playing a role in determining overall prices?

Read the entire story, originally published on the Worldwatch Institute website (www.worldwatch.org): http://www.worldwatch.org/has-china%E2%80%99s-economic-shift-really-ended-commodity-super-cycle