Weekly Market Recap – July 27th, 2018
In the Markets
The U.S. GDP posted a 4.1% growth in the second quarter, the strongest performance since 2014. While this increase could be attributed to foreign companies buying U.S. goods before potential tariffs are put in place, domestic contributors to GDP also posted gains; consumer spending rose 4%, while business investment has risen 9.4% over the first two quarters.
Tariff tensions between the U.S. and Europe eased as negotiations resulted in a halt of additional retaliatory tariffs, as well unspecified plans for an increase American soybeans and natural gas sales to the EU. In response, both commodity futures posted strong gains, with November soybean futures rising 2.37%, and September natural gas climbing 1.79%. Corn and wheat also performed positively, raising 1.96% and 2.81% respectively.
Iran remains crucial to global oil prices, putting the U.S’s relationship at the center of crude markets. Not only is Iran a dominate oil producer, but they also hold the Strait of Hormuz which separates the Persian Gulf from the Gulf of Oman, which 20% of global crude oil passes through every day. WTI crude futures showed limited response, only gaining 0.63%, while Brent crude futures rose 1.66% on the week.
Gold fell 0.66%, and silver dropped 0.36%, while the Dollar Index acted inversely, climbing 0.25% on the week.
The Dow Jones rallied 1.6% this week on the back of the strong GDP results and easing trade tensions, while the S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The NASDAQ did not fare as well as the other indices, falling 1.1% on the week.
World Cup Trading Championships
Only 6.5% separated first from third at the close of last week’s trading: Jan Smolen maintained his hold on first place, closing the week at 109.4%, but right on his heals was Carlos Eisenberg, who finished the week at 106.2%. In third place is, within striking distance of first with a year to date net return of 103% was Kurt Sakaeda.
Paul Skarp finished up 3% from last week to close at 83.7%, enough to remain in 4th place. The top 5 was again rounded out by Takumaru Sakakibara with a net return of 42.4%.
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.