The charts that matter: gold and bitcoin both slide

Gold and its modern counterpart, bitcoin, both sold off this week. Here’s what’s happened to the charts that matter most to the global economy.

Welcome back.

This week on the cover of the magazine, we take a look at the lorry-driver shortage, explaining where all the drivers have gone, what the consequences are, and what it means for your money.

And our main investment feature this week is on the power of the “grey pound” – how to invest as the world’s population ages. Matthew Partridge picks some of the best ways for you to profit. If you’re not already a subscriber, sign up now and get your first six issues free.

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This week’s “Too Embarrassed To Ask” video explains what “stagflation” is (a nasty combination of economic stagnation and inflation which might be rapidly becoming more pertinent today). Watch the whole thing here (it only takes a couple of minutes).

And in this week’s podcast, Merryn’s joined by Anna Macdonald of Amati Global Investors. She has a particular passion for UK small-cap stocks, and explains to Merryn just how she goes about finding the companies that she hopes will be the blue-chip stocks of tomorrow. Listen to the episode 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 sold off after a spike at the end of the previous week.

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) halted its decline.

US dollar index chart

(Image credit: US dollar index chart)

(DXY: three months)

The Chinese yuan (or renminbi) again saw very little action (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)

The yield on the ten-year US government bond ended the week more or less where it started, after an earlier sharp rise was reversed.

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 climbed higher after news of the prime minister’s resignation.

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 nudged slightly higher, perhaps spurred by talk of the ECB possibly cutting back on its stimulus measures.

German Bund yield chart

(Image credit: German Bund yield chart)

(Ten-year Bund yield: three months)

Copper drifted sideways.

Copper price chart

(Image credit: Copper price chart)

(Copper: nine months)

The closely-related Aussie dollar pared back its recent gains.

AUD/USD currency chart

(Image credit: AUD/USD currency chart)

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

Bitcoin took a mighty tumble, along with most other cryptocurrencies (bar one), even as it became legal tender in El Salvador. However, in the longer term, Dominic thinks it is an “extraordinarily bullish move” for both crypto and country.

Bitcoin price chart

(Image credit: Bitcoin price chart)

(Bitcoin: three months)

US weekly initial jobless claims fell by 35,000 to 310,000. The four-week moving average fell by 16,750 to 339,500. Meanwhile, the nonfarm payrolls figure for August, released last Friday afternoon, was far weaker than expected.

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 meandered around $71-$72 a barrel.

Brent crude oil price chart

(Image credit: Brent crude oil price chart)

(Brent crude oil: three months)

Amazon slipped a little.

Amazon share price chart

(Image credit: Amazon share price chart)

(Amazon: three months)

But Tesla just keeps on climbing.

Tesla share price chart

(Image credit: Tesla share price chart)

(Tesla: three months)

Have a great weekend.

Ben

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.