Jim Rogers Sees `Skyrocketing' Prices for Commodities (Update1)
By Betty Liu and Eric Martin
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Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve's interest rate cut was a mistake that will prompt ``skyrocketing'' agricultural prices worldwide, exacerbate a decline in the dollar and quicken inflation, investor Jim Rogers said.
The ``clowns in Washington'' have ``signaled to the world they don't care about the U.S. dollar,'' Rogers said in an interview from Singapore. The Fed reduced its benchmark rate by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent last week.
The commodities rally, which Rogers correctly predicted in 1999, may last 15 more years, he said. Oil may reach $150 a barrel during that time, he said.
Rogers co-founded the Quantum Hedge Fund with George Soros in the 1970s. He traveled the world by motorcycle and car in the 1990s researching investment ideas for his books, which include ``Adventure Capitalist'' and ``Hot Commodities.''
The dollar today fell to a record against the euro and weakened versus the yen on speculation U.S. growth is losing momentum, adding to pressure on the central bank to reduce interest rates again. The currency's slide has boosted gold as investors seek an alternative investment, lifting prices to the highest since 1980.
Crude oil has surged more than 30 percent in the past year, and last week reached a record $83.90 a barrel in New York. Wheat set an all-time high of $9.1125 a bushel on Sept. 12 as world consumption is forecast to exceed production for the seventh time in eight years.
U.S. stocks gained, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rising 1.78, or 0.1 percent, to 1,527.53 as of 11:03 a.m. in New York. Shares in developing economies also advanced, sending the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index higher by 12.90, or 1.1 percent, to 1,174.04.
By Betty Liu and Eric Martin
Enlarge Image/Details
Sept. 24 (Bloomberg) -- The Federal Reserve's interest rate cut was a mistake that will prompt ``skyrocketing'' agricultural prices worldwide, exacerbate a decline in the dollar and quicken inflation, investor Jim Rogers said.
The ``clowns in Washington'' have ``signaled to the world they don't care about the U.S. dollar,'' Rogers said in an interview from Singapore. The Fed reduced its benchmark rate by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent last week.
The commodities rally, which Rogers correctly predicted in 1999, may last 15 more years, he said. Oil may reach $150 a barrel during that time, he said.
Rogers co-founded the Quantum Hedge Fund with George Soros in the 1970s. He traveled the world by motorcycle and car in the 1990s researching investment ideas for his books, which include ``Adventure Capitalist'' and ``Hot Commodities.''
The dollar today fell to a record against the euro and weakened versus the yen on speculation U.S. growth is losing momentum, adding to pressure on the central bank to reduce interest rates again. The currency's slide has boosted gold as investors seek an alternative investment, lifting prices to the highest since 1980.
Crude oil has surged more than 30 percent in the past year, and last week reached a record $83.90 a barrel in New York. Wheat set an all-time high of $9.1125 a bushel on Sept. 12 as world consumption is forecast to exceed production for the seventh time in eight years.
U.S. stocks gained, with the Standard & Poor's 500 Index rising 1.78, or 0.1 percent, to 1,527.53 as of 11:03 a.m. in New York. Shares in developing economies also advanced, sending the Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Markets Index higher by 12.90, or 1.1 percent, to 1,174.04.
