National currencies and bonds fell hard, and equities (other than gold stocks) moved lower. Cryptocurrencies and commodities were mixed. The week's biggest gains were in Ethereum and silver, up 14.0% and 11.5%. The largest losses were in cotton, which fell 7.8%.
National currencies were hammered hard this week. Almost every currency I track is at new all-time lows, including the USD, EUR, CNY, CHF, GBP, CAD, RUB, and ARS as well as the SDR. The only exceptions are the JPY, which sits just 1% above its all-time low, set on 21-Jan-1980, and the CLP and AUD, which are about 2% above their all-time lows set in April of this year. On a weekly basis, the US Dollar was hardest hit, dropping 5.0%. The Euro and British Pound (not in table) outperformed their peers, falling 3.3% and 3.1% respectively. Short term treasury notes dropped 5.0% (in line with USD cash) while long term bonds declined 3.3%.
Bitcoin rose to a high of 159.9 grams on Wednesday, but fell sharply on Friday to close at 155.9 grams, off 1.0%. Ethereum was relatively flat until Wednesday, when it started rising rapidly. It finished the week at 4.57 grams, up 14.0%, the best showing for any asset in the table.
Gold stocks rose 2.1%, but all other major equity indexes fell, led lower by the Dow Industrials which finished down 5.7%. The smallest drop was in the S&P 500, off 2.4%.
As usual recently, much of the big price action was in the commodities. Silver rocketed higher, gaining 11.5% and breaking out of its long term downtrending channel. Platinum also rose strongly, gaining 6.7%. Cotton saw the largest decline, falling 7.8%. Copper and crude oil also fell, closing 5.4% and 3.3% lower.
Over the weekend, national currencies continued to fall while cryptocurrencies gained ground.
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