This was an excellent week for all asset classes except the platinum group metals and gold mining stocks. Topping the charts was Bitcoin, which gained 10.2% to close at 12.1 grams. This was followed by cotton, up 7.5% and the Euro STOXX (FEZ ETF) which gained 6.9%. The HUI gold stock index had the greatest losses, down 5.3%, closing at 5.1 grams. Platinum, off 1.0%, and palladium, down 0.7%, were the only other declining assets for the week.
The Canadian dollar and Japanese yen were the strongest government-issued currencies, gaining 3.6% and 3.4% respectively. Weakest was the Chinese yuan, which rose 2.6%. Long-term bonds rose 2.9%, but trailed short-term bonds and USD cash, which each rose 3.1%.
All equity indexes (other than gold stocks) were higher, led by the Euro STOXX. The S&P 500 rose 5.5%, while Japanese stocks had the smallest gains, rising 4.1%.
A number of commodities showed massive gains, including cotton, up 7.5%, copper, which rose 5.9%, and crude oil, which gained 5.1%. Silver added 1.5%; only platinum and palladium were lower for the week.
