Bitcoin continued to rocket upward this week, with long term treasuries a distant second place. Coffee and the Nikkei Index were the biggest losers.
Government issued currencies were mixed, with the Yen down 2.6% and the Euro down 0.5%, while the Canadian Dollar rose 0.5% and the US Dollar was unchanged. In contrast, the free market currency, Bitcoin, gained 8.2% to close at 418 mg. The BTC is up 62% in the last month.
Bonds were up. The short term SHY rose 0.1%, slightly better than the underlying USD, and the longer term TLT was up 1.2%. Despite this week's good showing, TLT is still down 5.4% for the year to date.
Stocks were mixed. The big movers were gold stocks, represented by the HUI, up 0.8%, and the Nikkei Index, which fell 3%. In the US, the S&P 500 rose 0.4% while the Dow Jones Industrials fell 0.1%.
Commodities were all lower except for silver, which gained 0.3% this week. Coffee was the weakest, falling 4.6%, followed by crude oil, down 2.1%. Although not in the table below, platinum was up 1.7% this week, and now sits 2.7% above parity with gold. Food prices were up 3.7% in January, but are still close to their lows. The UN's Food Price Index is currently at 45.1, less than half of its 2005 level.
The DJIA made headlines as it hit the magic "14,000 USD" level this week, approaching its pre-crash 2007 highs. But keep in mind that at the 2007 peak, the Dow was selling for 652 g. Today, it sells for 261 g, a loss of 60%. Don't be fooled into measuring your investments with a rubber ruler like the USD. Always measure your results in gold!
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