The Wall Street Journal’s Daily Report on Global Central Banks for Wednesday, October 15, 2014:

Sign up for the newsletter.

Federal Reserve officials have an additional reason to be patient about raising short-term interest rates: Downward pressure on commodities prices.

Nymex crude oil futures prices dropped $3.90 per barrel Tuesday to $81.84, the lowest level since June 2012. Crude is down 19% from a year earlier. Nymex RBOB gasoline futures, at $2.1802, are at their lowest level since November 2010 and off 18% from a year ago. The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index, a broad measure of commodities prices, is down 4.7% from a year earlier.