Crude is testing the $70 a barrel mark. Gold has fallen below $800 an ounce. Most metals are now selling close to cost price…any lower and mines will be forced to shut down. This means commodity prices are hitting a bottom, says Keith Fitz-Gerald. And there are three strong reasons why prices are about to kick off once again.

US Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman says the America’s  “nuclear renaissance” could be derailed by the credit crisis.

But Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says a number of nuclear power projects are already underway in other parts of the world. India plans to build between 18 to 20 new nuclear plants over the next 15 years. Even the Middle East is shifting to the atom for its future energy needs.

Nuclear plants are also proven to be effective at water desalination. This will be vital in emerging markets, where populations are rising rapidly.

The government gravy train is at full throttle. The “big three” automakers in Detroit don’t want to be left out. They’re close to snapping up a $25 billion bailout. It’s another nail in the coffin for the dollar, according to Smart Comodities UK editor Garry White. This will send gold prices into orbit.

Onetime Wall Street darling Lehman Brothers (NYSE:LEH) has gone belly up, and it’s taking US stocks down with it. This morning, all but four of the Dow industrials are trading in the red.

There’s no two ways of looking at it. Wall Street is on its knees. If you have exposure to US stocks, you’ve probably been seriously burnt.

“But there’s one positive thing that you can say for commodity investors,” says Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White, “The dollar rally looks likely to run out of steam.”

Gold bugs face fresh misery today. The precious metal hit a record low for the year at below $750 an ounce.

But Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says there is no reason to panic.

Gold prices are falling with crude oil as the dollar stages an impressive rally. But Garry says this trend can’t last. A broken US economy will not support the currency in the long term. High mining costs, meanwhile, will keep gold supply tight going forward.

In this light, investors should view gold’s new lows as a great buying opportunity.

Smart Commodities UK Editor Garry White says two things are vital for Britain to be able to power itself in 2015. Firstly, despite environmentalist concerns, more coal stations are needed in the short term. Secondly, British Energy (LON:BGY) must be sold to Electricite de France SA (EPA:EDF), which would provide the expertise for an efficient nuclear powered energy system…

Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says talk of a new cold war with Russia is madness. A provoked Russia may be saber rattling, but escalating beyond that would not be in its own financial interests. Russia needs the West’s custom as much as the West needs its hydrocarbons. Garry says Russia is a competitor, not an opponent, and its growth potential makes it a great investment play right now…

Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says copper prices will soar in the coming years. Existing supplies are dwindling and the rush for greener hybrid cars will send demand for copper through the roof. In the short term, Garry says investors should be ready for the copper market to bottom out over the next two months, as the summer lull in trading comes to an end…

Last week closed on a bearish note for crude oil. On Friday, traders saw to it that oil had its biggest one-day decline in percentage terms since December 2004.

Crude oil prices plunged 5.4% despite a rising dollar. Light sweet crude for October delivery fell $6.59 to $114.59.

U.S. oil demand has fallen by an average 800,000 barrels per day in the first half of 2008 compared to the same period a year ago. Smart Commodities UK editor Garry White says there two strong reasons why this trend won’t last…

Are the commodities markets changing track?

Yesterday, gold prices hit a 10-day high at $839 an ounce, crude oil prices soared overnight in their biggest rally for three months to settle at over $120 a barrel and the dollar saw its biggest monthly loss against the euro since mid-July.

These price movements will not come as surprise to Contrarian Profits regulars. Last Thursday, The Sovereign Society’s Eric Roseman urged investors not to abandon gold because he didn’t believe the dollar rally would last.