Glimmer of hope ahead for commodities

New York

AFTER the worst commodity collapse in a generation, there may be some glimmers of hope.

Gold, wheat and natural gas probably will climb in 2016, according to a Bloomberg survey of 108 traders, analysts, economists and strategists across Asia, Europe and the Americas.

It will not be all positive. For oil, mired in the longest slump since 1998, bearish respondents said that prices may drop below this week's six-year low, while the survey showed overwhelming pessimism for copper.

The 2015 meltdown sent almost every commodity lower, shrinking profits for companies including South African mine owner Anglo American plc and energy producer Royal Dutch Shell plc. The world got stuck with raw material surplu…