This week most assets were in the green; the main exceptions were copper, which lost 2.7%, and gold stocks, which declined 1.3%. The largest gains were in Ethereum, which climbed 11.6%, the broad 30 crypto index, which added 8.9%, and crude oil, which rose 5.0%.
The Chinese Yuan outperformed other national currencies, rising 2.9%. The Euro lagged, gaining just 0.3%. The USD added 0.5%, as did short term treasury notes. Long term bonds closed up 1.7%.
Ether was the biggest winner, both overall and within the crypto space. ETH started the week with a 5.8% drop, but worked its way higher to 47.6 grams by Thursday, a gain of 20.1%, before pulling back to close at 44.2 grams, up 11.6%. Bitcoin followed a similar but less volatile trajectory, ending the week up 3.9%.
The HUI gold stocks were the only equities in the red this week, falling 1.3%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, up 1.2%, was the best performer. Among the major indexes, the Nikkei was weakest, gaining just 0.2%.
The strongest commodities were crude oil, up 5.5%, and cotton, up 5.0%. Losses were confined to the metals, as copper dropped 2.7%, silver fell 0.5%, and platinum declined 0.4%. Palladium bucked this trend, rising 1.3%.
Year over year, cryptos, equities and commodities were all in the green, bonds were in the red, and national currencies were mixed. Cryptocurrencies were the strongest sector and Ethereum was the strongest asset, rising 893.0%. Among the commodities, crude oil, up 67.3%, and copper, up 63.6%, were the best performers. The S&P 500, up 22.2%, and the Euro STOXX, up 21.7%, were the equity stars. Long bonds, down 19.0%, fell more than any other asset. The Japanese Yen, down 10.5%, and the US Dollar, down 10.1%, were the weakest currencies. The Chinese Yuan, up 2.5%, was the best performing currency.
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