Well now, for more on inflation, metals, and what’s ahead for the various markets in 2018, let’s get right to this week’s exclusive interview.

Mike Gleason: It is my privilege now to welcome in Greg Weldon, CEO and president of Weldon Financial. Greg has over three decades of market research and trading experience, specializing in the metals and commodity markets, and even authored a book in 2006 titled Gold Trading Boot Camp, where he accurately predicted the implosion of the U.S. credit market, and urged people to buy gold when it was only $550 an ounce. He is a highly sought after presenter at financial conferences throughout the country, and is a regular guest on financial shows around the world, and it's great to have him back here on the Money Metals Podcast.

Greg, it's nice to talk to you again, and thanks for coming on.

Greg Weldon: It's my pleasure, Mike. Thank you for the invite.

Mike Gleason: Well before we get into other stuff here, Greg, one of the big stories early this year has been the plunge we're seeing in the U.S. dollar. Precious metals and commodities have been getting a boost, but it doesn't look to us like metals have fully priced in all of the weakness we've seen in the greenback, which lost 10 percent in 2017, and is off to its worst start in decades so far this year. Meanwhile, metals are still trying to retake their highs from last September. What are your thoughts on gold and silver prices relative to what we've seen in the currency markets, Greg?

Greg Weldon: Well, I think the first part of the question is important to answer first, in terms of the dollar, because it's important to kind of note the evolution that's taken place in the dollar. And like you accurately stated, it was down all of 2017. It was under pressure. So, while this latest slide has caught the attention of the markets, it's been in depreciation mode for 14 months. I think that the reason that the most recent move has caught the attention of the media, particularly, is the fact that you have a secular breakdown.

When you took out 9100 in the dollar index, you really have kind of completed a rally phase that was predicated upon ... at first, you kind of saw that real acceleration here in the dollar and the upside off of the gains in this recent move to its highs, 2016-2017, was predicated upon the Fed dot plot. Which, when they went from taper to tap out, in August of 2014, meaning, that they stopped buying bonds, fresh bonds completely. In other words, not printing new money, not buying fresh bonds, only reinvesting the proceeds from maturing bonds, which they're not doing anymore.