Serious near-term technical damage has been inflicted in crude oil futures with the big losses recently, to strongly suggest that market has topped out and that crude prices will now trade sideways at best for an extended period. More importantly, the breakdown in raw commodity sector leader crude oil sends a strong and bearish message to other commodity markets. Take a look at the cotton futures market, which has been hit hard this week, due in part to the price pressure on crude oil. Other raw commodity markets could in the near term see a similar fate as cotton. Stay tuned! Jim