Weekly Update 18 Feb 2022 Precious Metals Shine

Precious metals and gold stocks rose, all other assets moved lower. Platinum gained the most, rising 3.1%, followed by the HUI gold stocks, which added 3.0%. Cryptocurrencies had the largest losses, with bitcoin falling 8.7% and ether dropping 8.0%.

All national currencies were lower, led by the Euro, down 3.8%, and the Canadian Dollar, off 3.7%. The Japanese Yen and the Chinese Yuan performed best, falling 2.7% and 2.9% repsectively. The US Dollar along with its treasury notes and bonds each declined 3.3%.

Bitcoin rose to a high of 750.0 grams on Wednesday, but collapsed to finish the week at 657.5 grams, down 8.7%. Ether followed a similar trajectory and closed the week off 8.0%. The broader crypto market index dropped 7.4%.

Stock indexes, other than gold stocks, all finished lower, led by the Dow Industrials, which fell 5.1%. Gold stocks, on the other hand, rose 3.0%, making them the second best performing asset of the week.

The week's other star performers were the precious metals. Platinum was the best performer of the week overall, with a 3.1% gain, barely edging out gold mining stocks. Palladium rose 2.6%, and silver added 0.4%. All other commodities were in the red, led by crude oil's 5.4% drop (the largest outside of crypto) followed by cotton and coffee which fell 5.1% each (tieing with the DOW for fourth place).

Year over year, national currencies and bonds are in the red, while other asset classes are mixed. Coffee, up 81.2%, is the biggest winner, followed by ether, up 41.7%, and crude oil, up 40.9%. The largest losses are in bitcoin, down 27.5%, the Japanese Nikkei stocks, down 22.8%, and platinum, down 19.3%.