Gold surges upward on U.S., European debt crises

Japan joined an international club that is racing to devalue their currency in the face of an international monetary crisis triggered by U.S. and European credit issues.

The result is that gold is up over 13% since July 1, having jumped $200 from $1,483 an ounce to today's high of $1,683 an ounce.

Yen are down 2.5% versus the greenback following the Japanese government's selling currency and an increase in its asset-purchase fund of government bonds, corporate bonds, and real estate investment trusts from 10 trillion to 15 trillion yen. The Japanese government also increased a bank lending fund by 5 trillion yen, bringing it to 35 trillion yen.

This follows the action of the Swiss National bank, which cut interest rates to zero in order to devalue the Swiss franc on Wednesday.

Other nations involved in the fiat currency “race to zero” include South Korea, the Philippines, and Brazil, which are all reportedly considering devaluation of their currency, according to a “Wall Street Journal” article.