Stocks and commodities were taken out to the woodshed for a severe beating and cryptocurrencies got off with a slap on the wrist. National currencies saw new all-time lows early in the week, but rebounded by week's end. The biggest gains were in long bonds, up 3.6%, followed by the Japanese Yen, up 3.2%. The largest losses were in copper, down 13.8%, followed by crude oil, down 10.1%. The US Dollar ended the week up 0.6%.
The weakest national currency was the Chinese Yuan, which fell 3.4%. Its apparent performance was hurt by the Shanghai Gold Exchange closure for Qingming Festival on Friday. The USD was next weakest, gaining 0.6%. The Japanese Yen was strongest, rising 3.2%. Short term notes tracked USD cash, adding 0.6%, but long term bonds soared 3.6%, the largest gain of any asset class, as investors ran for safe havens.
Equity markets got thrashed, with gold stocks, down 8.8%, and the S&P 500, down 8.6%, taking the worst of it. The Nikkei 225 index dropped the least, giving up 6.1%, followed by the Dow Industrials, which finished the week down 7.3%.
Commodities were also a sea of red. The 'strongest' commodities were coffee, down 3.2%, and platinum, down 4.6%. The worst performers were copper, down 13.8%, and crude oil, down 10.1%. Silver closed down 8.4%.
Cryptocurrencies moved lower, but showed strength relative to other risk assets like stocks and commodities. Bitcoin was little changed, while Ethereum closed down 3.8%.
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