Gold is up more than 6.5% since the first of the month. The precious metal is rallying on fears that the euro-area financial crisis may infect Italy and an indication from Chairman Bernanke that the Federal Reserve hasn’t ruled out another round of money printing. I’m not sure who believed that the Fed took QE3 off the table, but based on the price action in financial markets today, apparently some investors did. Gold is up $18 today, silver is up more than 5%, wheat is up 6.4%, oil is rallying, the Dow is up over 100 points, and the dollar has fallen to a new low versus the Swiss franc.