Weekly Update 31 May 2019

Cryptocurrencies continued to rise, national currencies fell, and other asset classes were mixed. The biggest price swings were in the commodities. Coffee soared 11.0% to score the week's largest gain. Crude oil continued to drop, falling 9.7% to close at 1.28 grams per barrel, the largest loss of the week.

All national currencies fell, led by the Euro, which tumbled 1.5%. The Japanese Yen fell least, closing off 0.3%. The USD was down 1.0%. Short term bonds did a bit better than cash, falling 0.6%. Long term bonds continued their winning streak, rising 2.1%

Cryptocurrencies continued to climb, but at a slightly more sedate pace. Bitcoin rose 6.3% and Ethereum gained 6.4%.

All major stock market indexes were lower; only the HUI gold stock index was higher, gaining 4.3%. The Dow Jones Industrials had the largest drop, falling 4.0%. The Japanese Nikkei slipped 3.6%, the least among the major indexes tracked here. The UK FTSE index (not shown) actually did a bit better, giving up just 3.3%.

The week's largest price swings were in commodities. Crude oil cratered, falling 9.7%. Coffee led all other assets, soaring 11.0% for the week. Palladium was up 2.0%, but the other metals were all lower, as copper fell 3.5%, and silver dropped 1.5%. Platinum ended the week at 19.0 grams, down 2.1%, and just 2.4% above its all-time low.