The charts that matter: bond yields plummet again

Government bond yields around the world took a dive again this week. Here’s how it affected the charts that matter most to the global economy.

Welcome back.

In this week’s magazine, we’re looking at economic and investment cycles. As John said in yesterday’s Money Morning, you can’t use them to time your entrances and exits into a market, but they can be a valuable tool for investors. Akhil Patel revisits the theme he wrote about in MoneyWeek in 2014 – that economies and markets are driven by an 18-year cycle based on land and property values. It’s a compelling read – subscribe to MoneyWeek here (and get your first six issues free) if you haven’t already done so.

This week’s “Too Embarrassed To Ask” video explains what “options” are. You can watch that here.

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Merryn’s pulled another big hitter out of the bag as a guest on this week’s podcast – historian and author Professor Niall Ferguson. He talks to Merryn about the unpredictability of disaster and how we’ll never be prepared for it. Plus, he gives his views on bitcoin (he’s a fan), Covid restrictions and our possible descent into a total surveillance society. Find out what he has to say here.

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

Now for the charts of the week.

The charts that matter

Gold started to climb back up after its big fall.

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) climbed higher.

US dollar index chart

(Image credit: US dollar index chart)

(DXY: three months)

The Chinese yuan (or renminbi) reflected the dollar’s strength, weakening a little (when the red line is rising, the dollar is strengthening while the yuan is weakening).

USD/CNY currency chart

(Image credit: USD/CNY currency chart)

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

After seeming to settle last week, the yield on the ten-year US government bond dived lower again.

US Treasury bond yield chart

(Image credit: US Treasury bond yield chart)

(Ten-year US Treasury yield: three months)

The yield on the Japanese ten-year bond reversed last week’s gains.

Japanese government bond yield chart

(Image credit: Japanese government bond yield chart)

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

And the yield on the ten-year German Bund fell back to its level of three months ago.

German Bund yield chart

(Image credit: German Bund yield chart)

(Ten-year Bund yield: three months)

Copper drifted lower – just a breather or have investors given up on the Great Reflation?

Copper price chart

(Image credit: Copper price chart)

(Copper: nine months)

The closely-related Aussie dollar resumed its slide.

AUD/USD currency chart

(Image credit: AUD/USD currency chart)

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

Bitcoin drifted lower.

Bitcoin price chart

(Image credit: Bitcoin price chart)

(Bitcoin: three months)

US weekly initial jobless claims rose slightly, up by 2,000 to 373,000, revised up from 364,000. The four-week moving average fell, however, down 250 to 394,500.

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 paused for breath – but that might not be the end of its bull run.

Brent crude oil price chart

(Image credit: Brent crude oil price chart)

(Brent crude oil: three months)

Amazon took another big jump.

Amazon share price chart

(Image credit: Amazon share price chart)

(Amazon: three months)

While Tesla fell back, with a little rally towards the end of the week.

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.