Weekly Update 23 Dec 2022

This week and next week are short trading weeks with generally low volumes as traders take time off for Christmas and New Years holidays.

Cryptocurrencies rose, bonds moved lower, and other asset classes were mixed. The largest drops were in long bonds, down 5.1%, and palladium, off 2.6%. The best performers were crude oil, up 6.6%, coffee, up 4.3%, followed by Ethereum and gold stocks, which each added 4.0%. USD cash fell 0.5% while the Japanese Yen rose 2.4% on interest rate hikes from the Bank of Japan.

Gold stocks dominated the equity category, rising 4.0%. US Equities were mixed, with the Dow Industrials adding 0.4% while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%. The Japanese Nikkei index fell 2.4%, probably due to the same rate hike that boosted the Yen.

Silver and cotton rose 3.5% each, while palladium dropped 2.6%, and platinum fell 1.8%.

Year over year, the gains were almost all in commodities as crude oil rose 8.1% and silver gained 4.3%. The largest losses were all in cryptos, exemplified by the CCi30 crypto index, which fell 74.2%. Outside of crypto, the long bond fund TLT had the worst performance, falling 29.8%.

Best wishes for the holiday season and the coming new year!