The charts that matter: a calamitous week for bitcoin hodlers

Cryptocurrency bitcoin took a mighty tumble this week, while wider markets sold off too. Here’s what happened to the charts that matter most to the global economy.

Welcome back.

This week’s magazine has something of a biotech bent. First, on the cover, we have the vaccine patent waiver story – it might sound like a good idea but it’s not going to work, says Simon Wilson, and will have “damaging long-term effects on future innovation”.

And speaking of innovation, Matthew Partridge looks at the work being done on Alzheimer’s disease, a devastating condition that is now one of the top causes of death in the world. Matthew looks at how you can invest in the search for a breakthrough.

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In the podcast this week, Merryn is joined by John. They have a good old chat about the UK’s V-shaped post-pandemic recovery, as evidenced by a trip to John Lewis; how the UK’s excellent-value listed companies are getting snapped up by private equity firms; and – inevitably this week – the pros and cons of bitcoin. Does it have any value? How would you know? And should you buy it anyway? Listen to their conversation here.

This week’s “Too Embarrassed To Ask” explains what “pound cost averaging” is. It’s one of those complicated-sounding investment terms which describes a very simple process. Find out more here.

Here are the links for this week’s editions of Money Morning and other web stories you may have missed.

Now for the charts of the week.

The charts that matter

Gold is having a very positive week – with inflation taking hold, perhaps it’s coming back into its own?

Gold price chart

(Image credit: Gold price chart)

(Gold: three months)

The US dollar index (DXY – a measure of the strength of the dollar against a basket of the currencies of its major trading partners) is continuing in its bear market, sliding further.

US dollar index chart

(Image credit: US dollar index chart)

(DXY: three months)

The Chinese yuan (or renminbi) was back on the rise against the not-so-mighty dollar (when the red line is rising, the dollar is strengthening while the yuan is weakening).

CNY/USD currency chart

(Image credit: CNY/USD currency chart)

(Chinese yuan to the US dollar: since 25 Jun 2019)

The downward drift in the yield on the ten-year US government bond halted.

US Treasury bond yields chart

(Image credit: US Treasury bond yields chart)

(Ten-year US Treasury yield: three months)

The yield on the Japanese ten-year bond looked to be turning up again.

Japanese government bond yields chart

(Image credit: Japanese government bond yields chart)

(Ten-year Japanese government bond yield: three months)

And the yield on the ten-year German Bund, got ever closer to positive territory, but remained negative (for now).

German Bund yields chart

(Image credit: German Bund yields chart)

(Ten-year Bund yield: three months)

Copper’s mighty bull run paused for breath. Understandable after making yet another high.

Copper price chart

(Image credit: Copper price chart)

(Copper: nine months)

The closely-related Aussie dollar continued its erratic way in a sideways direction.

AUD/USD currency chart

(Image credit: AUD/USD currency chart)

(Aussie dollar vs US dollar exchange rate: three months)

And, of course, the big story of the week – bitcoin lost 30% of its value at one point after China said it would crack down on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin price chart

(Image credit: Bitcoin price chart)

(Bitcoin: three months)

US weekly initial jobless claims were down again, falling 34,000 to 444,000, compared to 478,000 last week (revised up from 473,000). The four-week moving average fell to 504,750, down 30,500 from 535,250 (which was revised up from 534,000) the week before.

US initial weekly jobless claims chart

(Image credit: US initial weekly jobless claims chart)

(US initial jobless claims, four-week moving average: since Jan 2020)

The oil price fell hard, too.

Brent crude oil price chart

(Image credit: Brent crude oil price chart)

(Brent crude oil: three months)

Amazon seems to be recovering after its post-results selloff.

Amazon share price chart

(Image credit: Amazon share price chart)

(Amazon: three months)

And Tesla had a terrible week – the electric-car maker seems to be in the sights of some big short sellers. It’s also a tech stock, and one which is closely linked in investors’ minds to bitcoin (that’ll be because Elon Musk won’t stop tweeting about it). So rising inflation fear (which also means the threat of rising rates, which profitless tech stocks don’t like) alongside a bitcoin crash spells a tough environment for Tesla.

Tesla share price chart

(Image credit: Tesla share price chart)

(Tesla: three months)

Have a great weekend.

Ben Judge

Ben studied modern languages at London University's Queen Mary College. After dabbling unhappily in local government finance for a while, he went to work for The Scotsman newspaper in Edinburgh. The launch of the paper's website, scotsman.com, in the early years of the dotcom craze, saw Ben move online to manage the Business and Motors channels before becoming deputy editor with responsibility for all aspects of online production for The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Edinburgh Evening News websites, along with the papers' Edinburgh Festivals website.

Ben joined MoneyWeek as website editor in 2008, just as the Great Financial Crisis was brewing. He has written extensively for the website and magazine, with a particular emphasis on alternative finance and fintech, including blockchain and bitcoin. 

As an early adopter of bitcoin, Ben bought when the price was under $200, but went on to spend it all on foolish fripperies.