Gold has launched into one of the most dramatic rallies in its modern history. In dollar terms it has climbed by more than 60% this year, the strongest performance in nearly half a century. Once you adjust for inflation, the metal has never been more expensive.

Whenever an asset price tears away from its long-term trend, the textbook expectation is that gravity eventually reasserts itself, as it did after gold’s blow-off top at the end of 1979, when prices fell by almost two-thirds over the following five years. The question now is whether we are simply replaying that script with a new generation of investors, or whether the current move reflects a deeper break in the way the global monetary and financial system works.

China’s retaliatory port-fee plan turns a simmering trade spat into a live-fire drill for global shipping. By threatening hefty charges on vessels deemed “U.S.”, including ships with as little as 25% American equity, Beijing has reached past flags and registries to target ownership structures themselves.

That’s a bomb under the industry’s floorboards. Oil carriers look most exposed: Jefferies reckons roughly 16% of refined-product tankers and 13% of crude tankers could be caught, with supertanker calls to China facing notional penalties on the order of $6.2 million per visit.

In October, U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) producers significantly increased their exports, reaching 7.92 million metric tons, marking the second-highest monthly level on record. This figure came close to the record set in April of 8.01 million metric tons. The upturn in exports was…