Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
You are now subscribed
Your newsletter sign-up was successful
Want to add more newsletters?
An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
The charts that matter: it’s all about the US dollar
As the US dollar continues to bully the currency markets, John Stepek looks at all the other charts that matter to the global economy.
Sign up for MoneyWeek’s free twice-daily newsletter.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
We haven't recorded a new podcast this week, but if you haven't listened to the most recent one yet, then you'll find it here.
Now over to this week's charts.
Gold is having a miserable time of it. Bearishness on the yellow metal is pretty high and despite various bits and pieces of geopolitical turmoil it can't catch a break at least, not against the US dollar. As I always say, it's worth having some in your portfolio. It's a good diversifier, and it's decent insurance against most of the things that could potentially go wrong in the financial world right now.
(Gold: three months)
The US dollar index a measure of the strength of the dollar against a basket of the currencies of its major trading partners continues to be strong.
(DXY: three months)
The yield on the ten-year US Treasury bond was again, little changed this week.
(Ten-year US Treasury: three months)
The yield on the ten-year German bund the borrowing cost of Germany's government, which is Europe's "risk-free" rate slipped a little, along with the US yield.
(Ten-year bund yield: three months)
Copper continued to slide, partly due to fears over Chinese growth but mostly due to the strengthening US dollar.
(Copper: three months)
Bitcoin is steadily heading lower. It's definitely not the must-have asset anymore. The only question seems to be: how low can it go?
(Bitcoin: three months)
On US employment, the four-week moving average of weekly US jobless claims rose slightly to 222,000 this week, while weekly claims rose to 227,000.
According to David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff, when US jobless claims hit a "cyclical trough" (as measured by the four-week moving average), a stockmarket peak is not far behind (on average 14 weeks), and a recession follows about a year later.
We hit a new trough last month, so if there's anything to Rosenberg's observations (which are of course drawn from a limited pool of past cycles), then we should see the stock market hit new highs before this cycle is out.
(US jobless claims, four-week moving average: since January 2016)
The oil price (as measured by Brent crude, the international/European benchmark) has jumped this week. Oil cartel Opec agreed to raise production. However, it looks as though the increase will not be enough to meet both growing demand, and to deal with the supply that will be lost due to Iranian sanctions.
(Brent crude oil: three months)
The arch-disruptor Amazon continues to bestride the US stockmarket. The company announced this week that it is buying an online pharmacy, called PillPack. Signs of Amazon taking another step into the healthcare market battered the share prices of other pharmacy groups. No one wants their industry to be disrupted although consumers love it.
(Amazon: three months)
Electric car group Tesla had a remarkably quiet week, share-price-wise. This week, Elon Musk got into a Twitter spat over a farting unicorn.
Join more than 165,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
