Gold Gains on Euro, British Pound, and Swiss Franc

Probably one of the most important metrics of gold's strength is its movement against currencies, and the last week it moved up strongly against the Euro, British Pound, and Swiss Franc.

Against euros it gained 2.0 percent; against the British pound, 1.7 percent; and against the Swiss franc, 1.3 percent. Gold did fall against the Japanese yen by 0.3 percent.

The euro fell against the U.S. dollar, dropping from $1.3169 to $1.2982, a loss of 1.1 percent.

Spot settlements for COMEX gold ended at $1,215, while averaging $1,203.

Commodities: Jim Rogers - In the Footsteps of Japan

Jim Rogers - America Following in Footsteps of Japanese Bailout Mistake

On CNBC's Squak Box Wednesday, Jim Rogers reiterated his call for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to resign for artificially undergirding poor performing "zombie banks" that should have been allowed to fail.

Citing the debacle of the Japanese government 18 years ago when they made the same mistake, Rogers said their stock market is still 75 to 80 percent lower than it was then.

The Japanese government decided at that time they weren't going to let poorly run banks fail, and they've reaped the consequences of those actions ever since. That could very well be the fate of the U.S. in the years to come.

For now, along with the Swiss franc and Japanese yen, Jim Rogers is continuing to invest in agriculture, and also other strong performers like Asian water treatment companies.

As Rogers points out, we shouldn't go in the failed footsteps that have kept Japan in a state of no growth for decades.

Other Jim Rogers Articles:

Jim Rogers: We're Facing an "Inflation Holocaust"

Jim Rogers: History Reveals Bailouts do more Harm than Good

Jim Rogers: Government Bailout a Huge Mistake

Jim Rogers: People Don't Understand Commodities

Jim Rogers Says Commodities Should Come Back Strongly

Commodities: Where Jim Rogers is Putting His Money

The commodity Jim Rogers considers important: currencies

Last post we talked about Jim Rogers' view on the interference by governments which will inevitably lead to inflation. In this case Rogers is calling it an "inflation holocaust."

So what is Jim Rogers doing at this time to make some money? He's continuing with a couple of his favorite currencies. Rogers is investing his large amount of cash in the Swiss franc and Japanese yen. He also said he's continuing to invest in agricultural products.





Agricultural products have also participated in the reason plunge in commodities, as demand across the world has fallen because of economic concerns and some of the high prices in connection with the former demand.





This will probably change around fairly soon as no matter what happens with metals and other commodities unrelated to gold or food, agricultural products, as well as gold, will continue to rise in price in the months ahead, as inflation rises in response to the misguided attempts by the U.S. government and others around the globe that continue to interfere with the markets.

U.S. Dollar Continues Slide Against Major Currencies

The U.S. dollar continues its downward trend, as it again dropped to a record low against the euro, and its lowest performance against the yen in twelve years.

Another first for the greenback was it fell below one Swiss franc for the first time in its history.

The news of the bailout of Bear Stearns Co. (NYSE: BSC), along with the growing suspicion that the Fed could cut interest rates up to a full point at their next meeting, caused gold to also surge to historic highs, increasing to $1,009 an ounce.

"The initial reaction is to sell the U.S., sell the dollar, sell the equities," said Jeff Gladstein, global head of foreign-exchange trading at AIG Financial Products. "This is bad news. It's definitely a confirmation of the reality that U.S. financial institutions are having a hard time."

Against the yen, the dollar plunged to 98.90, the worst performance since September 1995, while against the euro it dropped to a record $1.5688. With the Swiss franc, it feel to as low as 0.9988, down from Thursday's 1.0093.