Although many central banks have raised short term interest rate, Japan however still clings to a near zero interest rate monetary policy in an attempt to uplift the economy. The comparatively weaker Yen has given rise to carry trades;  4.
Some of the credit clearly goes to global forces that Americans don’t control and which can’t be counted on to continue pushing in the same direction forever. The world financial crisis has weakened demand for internationally traded goods, especially commodities, including agricultural products, metals, and oil (although the oil price has come back up recently as producing countries cut supply).