National currencies and bonds were lower, major stock indexes were higher, and cryptos were mixed… but the big price moves were in commodities. Crude oil soared 5.7% while coffee and cotton fell 4.3% and 3.3% respectively. Platinum dropped to another new all-time low, while palladium gained 3.0% to reach a new 15-year high.
As mentioned above, all currencies fell this week, led by the Japanese Yen, which closed down 0.9% and the Euro, which dropped 0.7%. The USD fell least, giving up just 0.1%, while the Chinese Yuan declined 0.2%. Bonds did worse than USD cash, as the short term SHY was off 0.2% and the long term TLT fell 0.4%.
Bitcoin rose early in the week, then gradually declined to close down 1.4%. Ethereum followed a similar pattern, rising to 2.95 grams on Sunday, then declining slowly to finish the week at 2.89 grams, up 2.2%.
Gold stocks were the only equities to finish lower, as the HUI closed down 0.7%. The Dow Industrials rose 3.0%, and the Euro STOXX50 ended up 2.5%. The Nikkei had the smallest gains for a major index, rising 1.9%.
Crude oil powered higher each day, rising 5.7% for the week. Palladium also made major gains, closing up 3.0%, a new 15-year high. The largest losses were in coffee, off 4.3%, and cotton, down 3.3%. Platinum also fell, giving up 1.5% and setting a new all-time low of 18.55 grams on Thursday.
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