0

The Case for Commodities

Free Writing Prospectus

Filed Pursuant to Rule 433

Registration No. 333-145845

February 12, 2008

Hello everyone and welcome to the Barclays Global Investors’ iPath presentation on The Case for Commodities.

1

New Access to Difficult-to-Reach Markets

Why commodities

Traditional ways to access commodities

iPath Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs)

In this presentation we will review why commodities may make sense in a portfolio and discuss some of the traditional ways that investors access the commodity market today. We will also spend some time talking about iPath Exchange Traded Notes, which offer investors new access to these markets.

Investors have shown increasing interest in commodities, which as an asset class can offer opportunities to fine-tune a portfolio’s risk and return characteristics or protect against inflation.

So what are commodities? And what is the rationale for including an allocation to commodities in investment portfolios?

2

Why Commodities?

Real assets vs. financial assets

•

Goods used in the first part of a manufacturing process

Commodities as an asset class

•

Portfolio diversifier

•

Potential to enhance portfolio risk-adjusted return

•

Inflation hedge

Commodities are the goods used in the initial phase of the manufacturing process, and refer to real assets such as energy, industrial and precious metals, agriculture, and livestock. Commodity and financial asset prices respond differently to capital market and economic conditions, although both are driven by the basic forces of supply and demand. Stocks and bonds can be publicly traded in the secondary market, and prices can quickly reflect forecasted earnings and future cash flows. Conversely, many factors may contribute to how commodity prices respond to market events including warehousing, delivery constraints, changes in supply and demand dynamics, and (in the case of physical commodities) a potential lack of fungibility.

One of the most compelling reasons to add commodities to a portfolio is their potential ability to provide diversification. Commodities have historically exhibited low correlations to financial assets such as stocks and bonds. Because of these low correlations, an allocation to commodities may enhance a portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns by lowering overall portfolio volatility. In addition, commodities may also provide protection against rising inflation.

3

Portfolio Diversification

Source:

BGI,

S&P,

Dow

Jones

and

AIG

Financial

Products

Corp.,

Lehman,

MSCI,

Bloomberg;

12/92

–

12/07

based

on

monthly

returns

Correlation Coefficient

Dow Jones-AIG

Commodity Index

Total Return

SM

S&P GSCI

TM

Total

Return Index

S&P 500 Index

0.10

0.01

Lehman U.S. Aggregate Index

0.01

0.06

MSCI EAFE  Index

0.24

0.14

Annualized Standard Deviation

12.70%

19.54%

Annualized Return

9.18%

7.88%

Commodities represent an investable asset class with measurable performance. Commodity and financial asset prices respond differently to capital market and economic conditions. As a result, commodity indexes historically exhibited low correlations with the returns of equity and fixed income indexes.

This table summarizes the correlations between the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return^SM and the S&P GSCI^TM Total Return Index. The correlations are calculated using 15 years of monthly returns. The annualized standard deviation and annualized returns are calculated over the same 15 year period.

As shown in the table the commodity indexes exhibit low correlations with the S&P 500 Index, Lehman U.S. Aggregate Index, and MSCI EAFE Index. Because commodities have low correlations to stocks and bonds, an allocation to commodities may enhance a portfolio’s risk-adjusted returns by lowering overall portfolio volatility.

It is important to note the distinction between zero correlation and negative correlation. Two indexes with returns that have zero correlation have no relationship between their returns. So if one index goes up, it provides little information about how the other index might behave. In contrast, if two indexes have returns with negative correlation, they tend to exhibit an inverse relationship. So if one index goes up, the other index will likely go down.

4

Commodity Index Sector Composition (% Weight)

36.49

73.83

34.08

13.28

13.34

7.08

6.95

9.15

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Energy

Agriculture

Industrial Metals

Precious Metals

Livestock

Commodity Index Comparison

Source:

Dow

Jones

and

AIG

Financial

Products

Corp.,

S&P;

weights

as

of

12/31/07.

Subject

to

change.

Dow Jones-AIG Com-

modity Index Total

ReturnSM

S&P GSCI™

Total

Return Index

Two of the most popular broad-based commodity indexes are the S&P GSCI^TM Index and the Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return^SM. This chart shows the sector or commodity group composition of the Total Return sub-indexes of both indexes.

While each index intends to provide a measure of the commodity market and its composition, distinct differences in the construction and methodology of the two indexes result in very different sector exposures.

The S&P GSCI^TM Total Return Index reflects the world’s production of the commodities included in the S&P GSCI^TM Index and is production and liquidity weighted. The Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return^SM is both liquidity and production weighted with constraints on individual commodities and commodity groups. This results in the Energy commodity group being represented differently in each index.

5

Source:  BGI, Goldman Sachs, Standard & Poor’s and Lehman Brothers.

Expected return/risk profile

Expected risk (standard deviation) %

6.15

6.5

15.3

7.75

5.15

4.75

Commodities %

0%

5%

10%

Fixed Income

Equities

Enhance Portfolio Risk-Adjusted Return

Adding commodities can actually strengthen a portfolio by providing some differentiated sources of both risk and return as demonstrated above. Here we have an efficient frontier curve with and without commodities folded into the portfolio (which represents a mix of equities and fixed income). We see that a modest allocation of 5-10% offers material benefits, particularly at the lower end of the risk spectrum where the curve is pushed out the furthest. Here we see that a portfolio with a 10% commodity allocation to it will generally have an expected return of 5.15% and the least amount of expected risk at 6.15% for that level of return.

6

Traditional Ways to Access Commodities

Physical Commodities

Futures / Swaps / OTC Notes

Mutual Funds

There are several other ways that investors have traditionally gained access to the commodities market.

• Physical commodities provide pure exposure to the underlying commodity, but may be impractical (except for direct users) due to storage and delivery requirements. In addition, physicals might be expensive to store due to security or spoilage concerns or even space restrictions.

• Futures, Swaps and OTC Notes have predominantly been limited to large institutional investors with the resources and experience to administer complicated futures portfolios themselves, or to use a total return swap and manage the related counterparty risk.

• Mutual Funds, until recently, presented the most viable option for individual investors or small institutions because they provide convenient access to commodity-linked investment at reasonable costs and low investment minimums.

7

Accessing Commodities Through Equities

Equity returns of commodity producers may not strongly

correlate with commodity indexes

•

Company risk vs. commodity risk

•

Companies hedge commodity exposure

Source:

BGI,

S&P,

Dow

Jones;

12/02

–

12/07

Correlation Coefficient

S&P GSCI

TM

Crude

Oil Total Return

Index

S&P Global Energy Index

0.50

Dow Jones Oil & Gas Index

0.46

S&P North American Natural Resources Sector Index™

0.50

Can an investment in commodities be achieved by investing in companies that produce commodities, instead of investing in the actual commodities? For example, do equity Energy sector indexes provide similar exposure as the S&P GSCI^TM Crude Oil Total Return Index?

This table gives 5-year historical correlations using monthly returns of the S&P GSCI^TM Crude Oil Total Return Index with three equity Energy sector indexes. This table shows that equity returns of commodity producers do not correlate strongly to commodity indexes.

An investment in the equity of commodity producers provides exposure to company-specific risk in addition to commodity-specific risk. For example, the stock price of an oil company will reflect oil price fluctuations as well as the company’s management, accounting, marketing, sales and fundamental valuation.

Moving on, we will spend the next few minutes talking about iPath Exchange Traded notes and how the iPath suite of commodity-focused ETNs can help investors access commodity markets.

8

Introducing iPath

®

Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs)

Securities issued by Barclays Bank PLC

•

Senior, unsecured debt

•

No principal protection, interest payments or leverage

Linked to the return of the underlying index, less investor fees

•

Unlike ETFs, no underlying assets are held

Daily exchange liquidity

•

Daily redemption feature

No tax prior to cash receipts

iPath ETNs trade daily on an exchange at market prices. Brokerage commissions will apply to  purchases and sales of the Securities in the

secondary market. Subject to requirements described in the prospectus, the Securities may be redeemed daily from the issuer in large,

institutional blocks (typically 50,000 Securities).  A  redemption charge will apply to early redemption of certain iPath ETNs.

Under current law, non-currency-related iPath ETNs should not require investors to pay tax in advance of cash receipts. Rather, they should be treated for tax purposes as prepaid contracts with respect to the relevant index, and if they are so treated, an investor will only recognize capital gain or loss upon the sale, redemption or maturity of the iPath ETN.

Unlike mutual funds, non-single currency iPath ETNs will not make capital gain or income distributions, ensuring investors control over the timing of taxable events related to their investment in iPath ETNs. The IRS and Treasury are actively considering the tax treatment of securities like non-single currency iPath ETNs which could change.

For a more complete description, please see the description of the U.S. federal income tax treatment of iPath ETNs in the prospectus.

9

iPath

®

Commodity ETNs

*The investor fee is equal to the Yearly Fee times the principal

amount of your securities times the index factor, calculated on

a daily basis in the

following manner: The investor fee on the inception date will equal zero. On each subsequent calendar day until maturity or early redemption, the

investor fee will increase by an amount equal to the Yearly Fee times the principal amount of your securities times the index factor on that day (or,

if such day is not a trading day, the index factor on the immediately preceding trading day) divided by 365.  The index factor on any given day will

be equal to the closing value of the index on that day divided by the initial index level. The initial index level is the value of the index on the

inception date.

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

GAZ

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Natural Gas Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

JJE

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Energy Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

JJN

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Nickel Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

JJC

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Copper Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

JJM

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Industrial Metals Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

COW

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Livestock Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

JJG

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Grains Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

10/22/2037

0.75%

NYSE Arca

JJA

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Agriculture Total Return

SM

Sub-Index ETN

8/14/2036

0.75%

NYSE Arca

OIL

iPath

®

S&P GSCI

TM

Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN

6/12/2036

0.75%

NYSE Arca

GSP

iPath

®

S&P GSCI

TM

Total Return Index ETN

6/12/2036

0.75%

NYSE Arca

DJP

iPath

®

Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return

SM

ETN

Maturity

Date

Yearly

Fee*

Primary

Exchange

Trading

Symbol

Currently, there are 11 iPath ETNs that offer access to a range of commodities indexes. These ETNs give investors the opportunity to make broad commodities investments or more focused commodities investments. They are linked to the performance of the:

• Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return^SM

• S&P GSCI^TM Total Return Index

• S&P GSCI^TM Crude Oil Total Return Index

• Dow Jones-AIG Agriculture Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Grains Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Livestock Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Industrial Metals Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Copper Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Nickel Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Energy Total Return Sub-Index^SM

• Dow Jones-AIG Natural Gas Total Return Sub-Index^SM

10

Innovation in Exchange Traded Products

Convenient access

Broader strategies

New flexibility

iPath ETNs provide investors the vehicles to construct broadly diversified portfolios of traditional assets and alternative, low-correlating assets. They offer:

• Immediate, cost-effective exposure to asset classes that haven’t always been easy to access, such as commodities.

• Broadened asset class opportunities that expand the range and depth of possible strategies that might be explored.

• New flexibility with the liquidity provided by an exchange listing and a redemption feature.

11

An

investment

in

iPath

ETNs

involves

risks,

including

possible

loss

of

principal.

For

a

description

of

the

main

risks

see

“Risk

Factors”

in

the

applicable

prospectus.

Barclays

Bank

PLC

has

filed

a

registration

statement

(including

a

prospectus)

with

the

SEC

for

the

offering

to

which

this

communication

relates.

Before

you

invest,

you

should

read

the

prospectus

and

other

documents

Barclays

Bank

PLC

has

filed

with

the

SEC

for

more

complete

information

about

the

issuer

and

this

offering.

You

may

get

these

documents

for

free

by

visiting

www.iPathETN.com

or

EDGAR

on

the

SEC

website

at

www.sec.gov.

Alternatively,

Barclays

Bank

PLC

will

arrange

for

Barclays

Capital

Inc.

to

send

you

the

prospectus

if

you

request

it

by

calling

toll-free

1-877-76-iPATH,

or

you

may

request

a

copy

from

any

other

dealer

participating

in

the

offering.

Barclays

Global

Investors

Services,

a

subsidiary

of

Barclays

Global

Investors,

N.A.

(“BGINA”),

assists

in

the

promotion

of

the

Securities.

Barclays

Global

Investors,

N.A.

and

Barclays

Capital

Inc.

(“BCI”)

are

affiliates

of

Barclays

Bank

PLC.

iPath

ETNs

(the

“Securities”)

are

unsecured

obligations

of

Barclays

Bank

PLC

and

are

not

secured

debt.

The

Securities

are

riskier

than

ordinary

unsecured

debt

securities

and

have

no

principal

protection.

Risks

of

investing

in

the

Securities

include

limited

portfolio

diversification,

trade

price

fluctuations,

uncertain

principal

repayment,

and

illiquidity.

Investing

in

the

Securities

is

not

equivalent

to

direct

investment

in

index

or

index

components.

The

investor

fee

will

reduce

the

amount

of

your

return

at

maturity

or

on

redemption,

and

as

a

result

you

may

receive

less

than

the

principal

amount

of

your

investment

at

maturity

or

upon

redemption

of

your

Securities

even

if

the

value

of

the

relevant

index

has

increased.

An

investment

in

iPath

ETNs

may

not

be

suitable

for

all

investors.

The

Securities

may

be

sold

throughout

the

day

on

the

exchange

through

any

brokerage

account.

There

are

restrictions

on

the

minimum

number

of

Securities

you

may

redeem

directly

with

the

issuer

as

specified

in

the

applicable

prospectus.

Commissions

may

apply

and

there

are

tax

consequences

in

the

event

of

sale,

redemption

or

maturity

of

Securities.

Sales

in

the

secondary

market

may

result

in

significant

losses.

We realize this presentation only touches the surface of iPath ETNs linked to commodities indexes, so please visit our website at www.iPathETN.com to find more detailed product information, strategies, and investor materials.

If you have any questions or comments, please call 1-877-76-iPATH.

Thanks again for your time and for supporting iPath.

12

The index components for iPath ETNs linked to commodities indexes are concentrated in the

commodities sector.  The market value of the Securities may be influenced by many unpredictable

factors, including, where applicable, highly volatile commodities prices, changes in supply and

demand relationships; weather; agriculture; trade; pestilence; changes in interest rates; and

monetary and other governmental policies, action and inaction.  Index components that track the

performance of a single commodity, or index components concentrated in a single sector, are

speculative

and

may

typically

exhibit

higher

volatility.

The

current

or

“spot”

prices

of

the

underlying

physical commodities may also affect, in a volatile and inconsistent manner, the prices of futures

contracts in respect of the relevant commodity.  These factors may affect the value of the index and

the value of your Securities in varying ways.

In addition to factors affecting commodities generally, index components composed of futures

contracts on nickel or copper, which are industrial metals, may be subject to a number of additional

factors specific to industrial metals that might cause price volatility.  These include changes in the

level of industrial activity using industrial metals (including the availability of substitutes such as

man-made

or

synthetic

substitutes);

disruptions

in

the

supply

chain,

from

mining

to

storage

to

smelting or refining; adjustments to inventory; variations in production costs, including storage, labor

and energy costs; costs associated with regulatory compliance, including environmental regulations;

and changes in industrial, government and consumer demand, both in individual consuming nations

and internationally.  Index components concentrated in futures contracts on agricultural products,

including grains, may be subject to a number of additional factors specific to agricultural products

that might cause price volatility.  These include weather conditions, including floods, drought and

freezing conditions; changes in government policies; planting decisions; and changes in demand for

agricultural products, both with end users and as inputs into various industries.

iPath ETNs typically have lower investor fees than currently existing mutual funds that invest in

similar markets and are available to retail investors. Buying and selling iPath ETNs will result in

brokerage commissions.

13

BGINA and its affiliates, and BCI and its affiliates do not provide tax advice and nothing

contained herein should be construed to be tax advice.  Please be advised that any discussion of

U.S. tax matters contained herein (including any attachments) (i) is not intended or written to be

used, and cannot be used, by you for the purpose of avoiding U.S. tax-related penalties; and (ii)

was written to support the promotion or marketing of the transactions or other matters addressed

herein.  Accordingly, you should seek advice based on your particular circumstances from an

independent tax advisor.

“Dow

Jones

®

”,

“AIG

®

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Commodity

Index

SM

”,

“DJ-AIGCI

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Commodity

Index

Total

Return

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Agriculture

Total

Return

Sub-Index

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Copper

Total

Return

Sub-Index

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Energy

Total

Return

Sub-

Index

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Grains

Total

Return

Sub-Index

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Industrial

Metals

Total

Return

Sub-Index

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Livestock

Total

Return

Sub-Index

SM

”,

“Dow

Jones-

AIG

Natural

Gas

Total

Return

Sub-Index

SM

”

and

“Dow

Jones-AIG

Nickel

Total

Return

Sub-

Index

SM

”

are

registered

trademarks

or

servicemarks

of

Dow

Jones

&

Company,

Inc.

(“Dow

Jones”),

and

American

International

Group,

Inc.

(“AIG”),

as

the

case

may

be,

and

have

been

licensed

for

use

for

certain

purposes

by

Barclays

Bank

PLC

for

the

Securities.

The

Securities

based

on

the

Dow

Jones–AIG

Commodity

Index

Total

Return

SM

are

not

sponsored,

endorsed,

sold

or

promoted

by

Dow

Jones,

AIG

Financial

Products

Corp.

(“AIG-FP”),

AIG,

or

any

of

their

respective

subsidiaries

or

affiliates

and

none

of

Dow

Jones,

AIG-FP,

AIG,

or

any

of

their

respective

subsidiaries

or

affiliates

makes

any

representation

regarding

the

advisability

of

investing

in

such

Securities.

14

•

Not FDIC insured   •

Have no bank guarantee   •

May lose value

“Standard & Poor's

®

”, “S&P

®

”, “GSCI

®

”, “S&P GSCI™”, “S&P GSCI™

Index”, “S&P GSCI™

Total

Return Index”, “S&P GSCI™

Crude Oil Total Return Index”

and “S&P GSCI™

Commodity Index”

are trademarks or service marks of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. and have been licensed for

use by Barclays Bank PLC in connection with the Securities. The S&P GSCI™

Index, the S&P

GSCI™

Total Return Index, the S&P GSCI™

Crude Oil Total Return Index, and S&P GSCI™

Commodity Index are not owned, endorsed, or approved by or associated with Goldman Sachs &

Co. or its affiliated companies. The Securities are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by

Standard & Poor’s, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. or any of its affiliates (“Standard

& Poor’s”). Standard & Poor’s does not make any representation or warranty, express or implied,

to the owners of the Securities or any member of the public regarding the advisability of investing

in

securities

generally

or

in

the

Securities

particularly

or

the

ability

of

the

S&P

GSCI™

Index

or

any

of its subindexes to track general commodity market performance.

©

2008

BGINA.

All

rights

reserved.

iPath,

iPath

ETNs

and

the

iPath

logo

are

registered

trademarks of Barclays Bank PLC. All other trademarks, servicemarks or registered trademarks

are the property, and used with the permission, of their respective owners.

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Info Sheets

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Category Basics

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