A different theory:
There are two trends that are part of the same phenomenon right now: Intrinsically valuable assets (like oil and most commodities), and short-term treasuries.
In each case, the run in prices is quite simply about asset allocation in the unlikely event of a credit system failure.
If push comes to shove, the only value in a systemic financial breakdown is 'things and stuff'. Agreements, and records, and pieces of paper that promise value are only as good as the system that backs them up. But commodities have value, period.
And the US treasury, despite its maladies of late, will still be the place where the world turns if a global financial panic escalates.
I don't think we've ever seen this combination, but global exposure correlation is a different story now than in previous times. And so is the level of uncharted uncertainty about how counterparty relationships will play out if the viability of synthetic assets falls past the tipping point.
