Weekly Market Recap – June 29th, 2018
In the Markets
The Trump Administration announced plans to levy powerful sanctions against companies who do not entirely cut Iranian Crude Oil imports by November. This considerably shortened the previous timetable, which required companies to cut 20% of their imports every 180 days. Now these companies must cut 100% of their Iranian imports in 180 days, with the cut off point set at November 4th.
Trade tensions between China and the U.S. spiked to start the week, as reports from the White House seemed to hint at barring Chinese companies from investing in U.S. tech firms. The task has been currently delegated to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, temporarily quelling tensions as the two superpowers continue to seek leverage against one another.
Crude Oil rallied this week, gaining back the ground it lost over the last few weeks, soaring to a high since November 2014. WTI Crude August Futures climbed by 8.12% to 74.15/bbl, while Brent climbed 5.06%. As companies begin to cut their reliance on Iranian Oil, the markets will continue to monitor the effects on global supplies.
Precious metals fell again this week, as gold dropped 1.27% to a new low for 2018 of $1246.90. Silver also fell 1.98%, while platinum fell 2.49%.
Soybeans dropped 4.14% as the U.S. continues its stand-off against global trade partners.
The U.S. Dollar rebounded slightly, rising 0.18%, but the major U.S. indices all fell on the week. The Dow Jones dropped 1.5%, the S&P 500 fell 1.4%, and the NASDAQ was down 2.4%.
World Cup Trading Championships
Kurt Sakaeda, three time WCTC Champion, maintained a third place in a tumultuous week in the markets. Jan Smolen held onto first, falling to 161.32%, and Paul Skarp remained in second place at 103.84%. Sakaeda closed the gap between himself and first to under 100%, finishing the week at 72.84%. Petra Ilona Zacek stepped back into the top 5, finishing in fourth with a net return of 49.46%. Takumaru Sakakibara rounded out the top 5 again at 43.71%.
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