Government-issued currencies and commodities were mostly lower this week, while bonds were mixed, and stocks were mostly higher. The biggest gains were once again in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which rose 11.1% to close at 61.4 grams. The largest losses were in crude oil and coffee, which fell 5.0% apiece. Gold stocks also fell, dropping 2.4%, continuing the trend of the last few weeks.
The US Dollar and Japanese Yen were the weakest of the currencies, declining 0.8% and 0.6% respectively. The strongest national currency (and the only government-issued currency to show a gain for the week) was the Chinese Yuan, which rose 0.5%.
Bitcoin was the strongest of all currencies tracked in this table, and the strongest asset class overall, rising 11.1%. Bitcoin closed the week at 61.4 grams, just 0.1 grams short of its all-time high, and has continued to climb since, setting new all-time highs each day. Not shown in the table, Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency, rose far more than Bitcoin, closing the week at 5.5 grams, up a whopping 21.9% from the prior week's close of 4.5 grams.
Bonds were mixed, favoring the longer maturities this week, with the long term TLT up 0.9%, while the short term SHY and USD cash were down 0.8% apiece.
Japanese stocks were strong, rising 1.9%. Gold stocks continue to retreat, with the HUI falling 2.4% to close at 4.7 grams. US stock indexes were little changed, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.2%, and the Dow Jones Industrials losing 0.2%.
The weakest commodities were crude oil and coffee, which dropped 5.0% each. The biggest commodity gains were in palladium, which rose 6.5%. Platinum fell 3.8% to close the week at 22.7 grams, just 0.3% above its all-time low. Silver and copper were lower this week, giving up 0.6% and 0.3% respectively.
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