Weekly Update 17 Jul 2020

Stocks moved higher, cryptocurrencies pulled back, and other asset classes were mixed. The week's biggest moves were once again in commodities, as coffee rose 4.8% and cotton fell 3.9%. Other strong performers were palladium, up 3.8%, and the Euro STOXX, which gained 2.9%.

The Chinese Yuan gained 0.8%, and the Euro added 0.7%. The largest losses were in the British Pound (not in table), down 1.2%, and the Japanese Yen, off 0.6%. The US Dollar lost 0.2%, as did its short term notes. Long term treasury bonds were unchanged.

Bitcoin declined through the week to a low of 157.1 grams on Thursday before reversing course and closing Friday at 157.6 grams, off 1.6%. Ethereum worked it's way lower all week, ending at 4.01 grams, down 3.6%. Both cryptos were rising over the weekend.

Equity markets were all in the black, led by The European STOXX50, which rose 2.9%. The Dow Industrials were in second place, gaining 2.0%. The S&P 500 lagged behind other major indexes, adding 1.0%. Gold stocks closed 1.8% higher.

Commodities were all over the place… Coffee climbed 4.8% (the week's biggest gain) while cotton fell 3.9% (the week's largest loss). Palladium and silver rose 3.8% and 1.8% respectively, but platinum fell 1.5%. Crude oil and copper were little changed.

Looking back over the last year, only a few assets are in the black. Far and away the strongest are the HUI gold stocks, up 19.4%. The other gains were much smaller: palladium is up 2.5% and the TLT long term bond fund has risen 0.5%. The largest losses were in crude oil, down 44.2% and Bitcoin, off 26.3%, closely followed by coffee (down 25.7%) and the Canadian Dollar (down 25.0%).