Weekly Market Recap – April 14, 2022
Vladimir Putin called the peace talks a “dead end” as his military heightened its focus on Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region. Russia’s flagship cruiser, the Moskva, sank in the Black Sea; Ukraine claimed that its missiles had struck the vessel, while Russia alleged it was an accidental ammunition fire. The U.S. began sending $800 million in military and other security aid to Ukraine. Sweden and Finland both announced that they are considering applying for NATO membership.
The consumer price index reported on Tuesday, was an 8.5% increase from a year ago, the largest rise in the CPI since 1981. Other monthly economic statistics, compared with previous levels, were as follows: producer price index +1.4% vs. +0.9%, federal budget -$193 billion vs. -$660 billion, retail sales +0.5% vs. +0.8%, and business inventories +1.5% vs. +1.3%. Weekly initial jobless claims were 185,000 vs. 167,000.
The US three-month Treasury bill rate reached 0.785%, its highest yield since February 2020. All three stock indices that we monitor declined for the week. The NASDAQ Composite had a 2.6% down-move to 13,351.08. The S&P 500 closed at 4,392.59 (-2.1%), and the DJIA lost 0.8%, ending at 34,451.23 on Friday. A rising CBOE VIX accompanied the stock sell-off, as the volatility indicator rose 7.3% to 22.70 at the close. In currencies, USD index futures firmed up to 100.326 with a 0.6% gain. S&P’s GSCI rallied to 764.90 (+6.2%).
Metals sector futures were mixed. Their closing prices and percentage movements were as follows: gold at $1,974.90 per ounce (+1.5%), silver at $25.700 (+3.5%), platinum at $994.20 (+1.9%), palladium at $2,355.40 (-2.7%), copper at $4.7235 per pound (0.03%) and aluminum at $3,285.50 per metric ton (-2.6%).
Most of the energy contracts on our radar ended in the black for the week. WTI crude closed at $106.95 per barrel (+8.8%), and Brent rose to $111.70 (+8.7%). Refined products also increased, with heating oil settling at $3.8548 (+16.2%) and RBOB gasoline at $3.3814 per gallon (+8.0%). NYMEX natural gas jumped 16.3% for the week, closing at $7.999 per mmBtu. Closing in the red, the ICE TTF Dutch gas dropped 8.0% to settle at €95.620 per MWh.
Of the nine agricultural products covered in our recap, four decreased and five increased. The negative moves were as follows: soybeans at $16.82¼ (-0.4%), coffee at $2.2360 per bushel (-3.5%), sugar at 20.06¢ per pound (-1.7%), and cocoa at $2,583 per metric ton (-1.4%). The gainers were: corn at $7.90¼ per bushel (+2.8%), wheat at $10.96½ (+4.3%), live cattle at 136.425 (+7.2%), and lean hogs at 118.475 (+3.4%). Cotton settled at $1.4198 per pound (+7.2%). This is an eleven-year high for cotton, which had reached $2/lb. in March of 2011.
Futures Referenced in Market Recap
Exchange | Commodity | Contract Month |
---|---|---|
CME | Live Cattle | June |
CME | Lean Hogs | June |
CBT | Soybeans | May |
CBT | Corn | May |
CBT | Wheat | May |
ICE | Coffee | May |
ICE | Cocoa | May |
ICE | Sugar | May |
ICE | Cotton | May |
ICE | Brent Crude | June |
ICE | Dutch TTF Gas | April |
ICE | USD Index | June |
NYMEX | WTI Crude | May |
NYMEX | ULSD (Heating Oil) | May |
NYMEX | RBOB (Gasoline) | May |
NYMEX | Natural Gas | May |
NYMEX | Platinum | July |
NYMEX | Palladium | June |
COMEX | Gold | June |
COMEX | Silver | May |
COMEX | Copper | May |
LME | Aluminum | 3 Mo. Forward |
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