Weekly Update 25 Sep 2020

National currencies and bonds rose sharply, but other asset classes were mixed. The biggest gains were in long term bonds, which soared 5.9%, and cotton, which rose 5.4%. Silver collapsed, dropping 12.3%. The second worst decline was in platinum, which fell 6.0%.

The US Dollar outperformed all other national currencies, rising 4.9%. The Eurozone (EUR, GBP and CHF) lagged behind, gaining 2.8% each. Long term bonds rose 5.9%, the largest gain for any asset this week. Short term notes traded in line with USD cash, adding 4.9%.

Crpytocurrencies were mixed, as Bitcoin rose 2.6% while Ethereum fell 3.9%. The index of the 30 largest cryptos, the CCi30, managed a 0.2% gain.

Equities were mostly higher, but gold stocks declined 2.1% and the Euro STOXX pulled back 1.2%. The S&P 500 was the equity leader, rising 4.2%. The Dow Industrials closed up 3.1%.

Commodities were once again the home of large price swings. This week was rough for silver, as it dropped 12.3%, erasing all of the metal's gains for August and September. Platinum dropped to a low of 13.9 grams on Thursday, but rallied to finish at 14.1 grams, down 6.0%. Cotton had a very good week, rising 5.4%, the second best performance of any asset in the table.

On a year over year basis, cryptos and gold stocks were the place to be, as Ether rose 71.3%, the CCi30 gained 29.1%, and the HUI added 20.5%. Crude oil and platinum were the worst performers, falling 41.4% and 26.8% respectively. European stocks were not far behind, dropping 21.4%.