Crude oil prices hit over $66 a barrel on Friday, setting a fresh high for the year and confirming their biggest monthly gain in over 10 years.  July contract for Nymex WTI rose 92 cents and at one point touched $66.03 (up 29.8% this month).  WTI is on course for its best monthly performance since March 1999 when it gained 36.5%.  July ICE Brent rose 90 cents to $65.29.  The exuberance in daily oil prices is a heady mix of OPEC's optimism that oil demand should increase in

Comex Gold (GC) Gold’s rally extended to as high as 982.0 last week and has finally taken out 967.7 resistance. From a short term angle, initial bias remains on the upside and further rise should now be seen to test 1007.7/1033.9 resistance zone first. On the downside, below 872.2 minor support will indicate that an intraday top is formed and bring consolidation. But pullback should be contained above 945.8 support and bring rally resumption. In the bigger picture, the break of 967.7

FXstreet.com (Córdoba) – The weakness of the Dollar continue on Friday. Greenback lost all previous gains ending the week at the lowest level of the year. EUR/USD rallied for second day in a row reaching the highest level of the year at 1.4168. The last time the par closed above 1.4100 was on December 19 of last year. On Friday the pair rose more than 250 pips. The rally of the Euro ended during the American session but the pair was able to maintain its high level. During May EUR/USD has risen almost a thousand pips.

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GLD – SPDR Gold Trust – With the value of the dollar coming under increasing pressure recently, those of protective hedges have risen. Today’s rally in the euro to above $1.41 against the dollar marks its strongest price since December 31, 2008. We noted in our daily forex commentary that signs of growth in Asia had conspired to convince investors that the health of the global economy was sound and so undermined the value of the dollar. In addition, physical commodities are having a storming

Futures rise for the fourth straight day as energy traders digest fresh figures on petroleum and natural-gas inventories as well as lackluster U.S. economic data.

Futures surpass $15 an ounce for the first time in more than nine months, rising more than 2% as hopes for an economic recovery raise inflation concerns.

FXstreet.com (Córdoba) – U.S. markets bounce back and are rising now. Dow Jones is up 77 points to 8378, after being below 8300. Crude-oil futures extends gains after data showed a drop in inventories. EUR/USD tested again 1.3980 (intra-day high) which is holding as a strong resistance. The next one is located at 1.4000. On the downside support could be found at 1.3945.

According to James Chen, Chief Technical Strategist at FX Solutions: “Price action on EUR/USD, despite a bearish correction, continues to traverse a steep, short-term uptrend channel. This correction occurred after price retreated earlier this week from the key 1.4050 resistance. Currently, the pair is attempting to regain the ground lost during the correction, and appears poised to re-test the 1.4050 target once again. A breakout above that level, which represents the 2009 year-to-date high, would confirm a continuation of the parallel uptrend channel, targeting further major resistance around the top of the channel, and then potentially around the key 1.4300-1.4350 support/resistance region”.
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Submitted by Edward Harrison of the site Credit Writedowns.

You have to hand it to Marc Faber; he knows how to grab your attention. Earlier this year, I posted a video of him saying “don’t underestimate the power of printing money“, a quote that has become mantra for me. Basically, he believes a rising tide of quantitative easing is going to buoy stock markets globally and the global economy (at least for the medium-term). This is a view I agree with and one reason I have taken a more bullish tack at Credit Writedowns.

Earlier today, I also posted a video of Faber talking about Nouriel Roubini and the pressure not to overstay a bearish call and miss the turn which I found rather interesting (Here’s a video of Roubini sounding rather bullish – for him). However, later in that same interview, Faber makes his most quotable statement yet: “I am 100% sure that the U.S. will go into hyperinflation.” That is a very bold claim.

Just last week, I made similar comments in my post, “More thoughts on the fake recovery.”

In my view, the Federal Reserve has effectively demonstrated it is willing to risk hyperinflation in order to beat back the deflationary forces.

But I was using hyperbole. Faber, however, is dead serious. It is the secret desire of the Fed to want inflation that has U.S. government bond yields going bezerk. But, most people are not expecting hyperinflation in the United States ever.

The video of Faber is below. Is this headline-seeking exaggeration or serious punditry?

Source

U.S. Inflation to Approach Zimbabwe Level, Faber Says – Bloomberg.com

Gold futures end unchanged, as a stronger dollar and upbeat home sales data reduce the metal’s investment appeal but rising crude prices raise gold’s attractiveness as a hedge against inflation.