Weekly Update 1 Mar 2019

National currencies and major stock markets were higher, cryptocurrencies lower, and bonds and commodities were mixed. The largest gains were in the PGMs, as palladium rose 6.2% and platinum gained 5.3%. The worst losses were in Ethereum, which gave back some of last week's massive gains, closing down 7.3%, and gold stocks, which fell 4.4%.

The Euro was the strongest national currency, gaining 1.7%. The Japanese Yen was weakest, adding 0.3%. US Dollar cash, more accurately described as notes of zero maturity, rose 1.3%. 1-3 year treasury notes rose 1.0%, and long term bonds fell 1.1%.

Cryptocurrencies pulled back this week, giving up some of the prior week's huge gains. Ethereum fell 7.3%, while Bitcoin dropped 2.4%.

Although gold stocks fell 4.4% this week, all the major stock indexes were higher, led by the Euro STOXX 50 which gained 3.1%. The Nikkei rose the least, up 1.1%. The S&P 500 advanced 1.7%.

Commodities were mostly higher, with crude oil (off 1.3%) and silver (down 0.7%) being the exceptions. The platinum group metals stole the show, as palladium gained 6.2% and platinum added 5.3%, the largest gains of any assets covered here. Cotton also did well, rising 2.5%.

Priced in Gold Weekly Summary

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