Weekly Update 6 Aug 2021

Gold stocks fell and commodities were mixed, but all other assets moved higher. Ethereum, up 21.4%, the CCi30, up 9.5%, and cotton, up 6.2%, were the week's best performers. Crude oil dropped the most, declining 4.2%.

The US Dollar led the national currencies higher, rising 3.6%. The Chinese Yuan lagged behind, gaining 1.4%. Treasuries underperformed USD cash, as short term notes rose 3.5% and long term bonds added 2.5%.

Cryptocurrencies continued their climb, led by Ethereum, which rocketed 21.4% higher as the new "Ethereum 2.0" protocols came into effect. Bitcoin also had a good week, gaining 5.0%. The broader 30 crypto index split the difference, adding 9.5%.

Gold stocks fell 1.7%, but other equities were in the green. The Japanese Nikkei led the way higher, gaining 5.1%, and was followed by the Euro STOXX, which rose 4.8%. The Dow Industrials lagged, adding "just" 4.4%.

Commodities were mixed, with crude oil falling 4.2% and platinum declining 1.1%, while cotton surged 6.2% and palladium rose 3.7%. Silver added 1.5% and copper gained 0.3%.

Year over year, only gold stocks are lower (down 16.0%). Cryptos have been the best performers, especially Ethereum, which rose 736.4%. Crude oil, up 90.0%, is the strongest asset outside of crypto. Coffee and copper also had an excellent year, up 76.4% and 74.4% respectively.