Weekly Market Recap – May 24th, 2019
In the Markets
Several companies joined Google in suspending business with China’s telecommunication company Huawei. Reports indicated that the U.S. is considering more Chinese corporations to join Huawei on the restrictions list. However, Huawei was granted a 90-day reprieve to work with U.S. companies to service existing networks and mobile devices. Despite the back and forth, a trade deal is still on the table, as President Trump and President Xi will meet at the June G20 summit in Japan.
In other global news, British Prime Minister Theresa May resigned as conservative party leader on Friday, allowing for a new Prime Minister to be elected. With the pending transition, a clearly defined Brexit plan is yet to be determined. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.7% on the continued trade tensions, while the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%, and the NASDAQ plummeted 2.3%.
Energy commodities saw steep drops across the sector. WTI futures declined 6.58%, falling below the $60/bbl. threshold, while Brent futures fell 4.87%, finishing under the $70/bbl. threshold. Both crude oil contracts had remained above those respective thresholds since March. Oil products followed suit, with Gasoline losing 5.51% and heating oil down 5.92%. Natural Gas futures’ four week streak of gains came to an end with a 1.25% loss on the week.
Silver led the precious metals sector, gaining 1.2% on the week, followed by gold’s gain of 0.49%. Gold had gained 0.63% through Thursday, before a small Friday decline. Platinum did not have the same luck, dropping another 1.71% on the week. Platinum lost almost $100/t oz over the month of May.
Agricultural commodities posted gains, but at drastically different rates. Soybeans and sugar both rose modestly, up 0.99% and 0.95%, while Corn and Wheat futures increased substantially, with corn advancing 5.48% and wheat gaining 5.89%. Coffee also performed strongly, up 6.81%. Following a double-digit percentage gain, lean hogs pulled back on the week, dropping 6.45%.
World Cup Trading Championships
Durai Ramasamy not only held, but increased the lead over the field, with a net return of 251.1%. Eduardo Ramos remained in second place with a net return of 103.9%. The third and fourth place finishers on the week, Kurt Sakaeda and Holger Groechel, ended in a 99% net return deadlock. The top five was rounded out by defending champion Petra Ilona Zacek and her 74.2% net return.
Trading futures and forex involves significant risk of loss and is not suitable for everyone. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. World Cup Championship (WCC ) accounts do not necessarily represent all the trading accounts controlled by a given competitor. WCC competitors may control accounts that produce results substantially different than the results achieved in their WCC accounts. WCC entrants may trade more than one account in the competition.