Money in funds tracking the two most- invested commodity indexes jumped 48 percent so far this year, suggesting increased influence over record energy, food and metals prices, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

Investments following the Standard & Poor's GSCI index and Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index have risen to $250 billion from $169 billion at the start of the year, Ben Dell, an analyst at New York-based Bernstein, wrote in a report published yesterday.

``The role that financial funds flow plays in setting the price of commodities remains one of the most hotly debated topics,'' Dell said. ... Read full article