How to ride the resources cycle

The resources supersector has been much in the news this year, mostly in connection with the price of oil. As political unrest spread across the Middle East and North Africa, becoming civil war in Libya, Brent crude rose from $93 a barrel at the beginning of 2011 to a peak of almost $127 a barrel at the start of May. But in little more than a week, the price has tumbled back to $110 a barrel, on weakening US economic data and tightening monetary policy in China. And although demand fundamentals appear positive on a medium-term view, it is hard to say where the current slide will finish. ...