Commodity Price Volatility during and after the Economic Crisis – Implications for Romania

Under the impact of a wide range of forces, the prices of globally traded commodities often experience sudden and significant fluctuations, putting under uncertainty and risk the economic status of producers, consumers and traders from the private to the national level. Although commodity markets are notorious for their price volatility, the events the world economy experienced in recent years, particularly the global economic crisis, offered new connotations to this phenomenon. These price movements reverberated across internal markets all over the world, affecting their statuses. As Central Eastern European countries, due to the processes they have undergone in recent decades, manifest an increased responsiveness to external shocks, Romania experienced the international turmoil in a severe manner. This paper calculates and presents, by comparison, the food price volatility experienced at the international level and on the Romanian market during the years of the crisis and immediately after its appeasement.