Weekly Update 28 Aug 2020

National currencies and bonds rolled over and headed lower. Cryptocurrencies mostly fell, but stocks and commodities were mixed. Long term bonds experienced the largest drop, falling 4.7%. Coffee once again had the biggest rally, rising 3.6%.

The Chinese Yuan was the strongest national currency, falling just 0.3%, while the US Dollar was the weakest, dropping 1.7%. Short term notes fell 1.7%, in line with USD cash, but long term bonds got hammered, plummeting 4.7%, the largest loss of the week.

Bitcoin dipped to a low of 183.1 grams on Monday, then recovered gradually to close at 183.4 grams, down 2.1%. Ethereum was relatively stable, ending the week unchanged. The CCi30, tracking the broader cryptocurrency market, slid 0.8%.

Stocks were mixed but mostly higher, with gold stocks once again outperforming the major indexes, rising 1.8%. The Nikkei was the only declining index, falling 1.2%. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% and the Dow added 0.9%.

Coffee was the best performer overall and within the commodity complex, finishing up 3.6%. Palladium experienced the largest drop in the sector, falling 2.3%. Platinum showed strength, rising 1.6%. Silver and crude oil were little changed, up 0.1% and down 0.2% respectively.

Ethereum retained its position as the leader over the last year, rising 65.3%. The CCi30 crypto index was in second place, with a gain of 21.9%. Contending for third place are silver, up 17.0%, palladium, up 16.8%, and the HUI gold stocks, up 16.7%. Crude oil has fallen the most, dropping 39.5%. It's a tight race for second place between the USD, off 21.5%, and the JPY, down 21.0%.

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