Weekly Market Recap – December 31, 2021

As the year was winding down, pandemic news continued ramping up. The U.S. COVID-19 death toll for 2021 was roughly 435,000 compared with 385,000 in 2020 (a 13% increase).

Although the holiday week that closed 2021 was a full 5 days long, it was short on economic statistics. Weekly initial jobless claims were 198,000 (vs. the previous 206,000). The S&P Case-Shiller home price index came in at 19.1% vs. 19.7% (on a year-over-year basis). November pending home sales dropped 2.2% in comparison to October’s +7.5% jump. The U.S trade deficit soared to a record -$97.8 billion (vs. -$83.2 billion the prior month), as imports surged over exports, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index rose to 63.1, exceeding the 61.8 number for the previous month.

Two of the three stock market indices we track moved higher for the week. The S&P 500 finished at 4,766.18 (+0.9%), and the DJIA went out at 36,338.30 (+1.1%). Both hit their all-time highs in Thursday’s session. On the other hand, the NASDAQ Composite slipped 0.1% for the week, ending at 15,644.97 on Friday; its all-time high was five weeks earlier, trading at 16,212.23 on November 22nd. CBOE’s VIX indicated a 4.1% drop in equities volatility; the index closed at 17.22. In currencies, the dollar eased a bit, the U.S. Dollar Index closed at 95.67 (-0.4%). As for the S&P GSCI, futures of physical commodities were slightly higher with the index settling at 561.18 (+0.5%).

Precious and base metal futures were mixed. Their closing prices and percentage movements were as follows: gold at $1,828.60 (+0.9%), silver at $23.352 (+1.8%), platinum at $966.20 (-0.6%), palladium at $1,912.10 (-2.3%), copper at $4.4635 (+1.6%) and aluminum at $2,807.50 (-1.0%).

Energy sector futures contracts on our radar all increased. WTI crude oil rose to $75.21 (+1.9%) and Brent crude advanced 4.2%, ending at $79.32 per barrel. In refined products, heating oil settled at $2.3253 (+0.1%) and RBOB gasoline advanced to $2.2246 per gallon (+1.0%). Natural gas had its first upward week in a month, rising 2.8%, as the spot contract closed at $3.730 per mmBtu.

For the agricultural markets that we monitor, the score was three higher and six lower. Friday settlement results were: soybeans at $13.39¼ (-0.1%), corn at $5.93¼ (-2.1%), wheat at $7.70¾ (-5.4%), coffee at $2.2610 (-2.2%), sugar at 18.88¢ (-1.9%), cocoa at $2,520 (+1.9%), cotton at $112.60¢ (+3.2%), live cattle at 139.700 (+0.1%), and lean hogs at 81.475 (-2.1%)

The largest 2021 percentage movements in the markets we report were all on the plus side. In the stock indexes, the S&P 500 showed a 27% gain for the year. The biggest mover in metals was aluminum (+42%), in energy, the petroleum complex showed increases from 53% to 57%, and natural gas ended with a 46% gain. Finally, the percentage leader in commodities was in the ag sector, where the price of coffee showed a 74% surge over the year.

 

Futures Referenced in Market Recap

ExchangeCommodityContract Month
CMELive CattleFebruary
CMELean HogsFebruary
CBTSoybeansMarch
CBTCornMarch
CBTWheatMarch
ICECoffeeMarch
ICECocoaMarch
ICESugarMarch
ICECottonMarch
ICEBrent CrudeFebruary
NYMEXWTI CrudeFebruary
NYMEXULSD (Heating Oil)February
NYMEXRBOB (Gasoline)February
NYMEXNatural GasFebruary
NYMEXPlatinumApril
NYMEXPalladiumMarch
COMEXGoldFebruary
COMEXSilverMarch
COMEXCopperMarch
LMEAluminum3 Mo. Forward

 

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. CME Group is the trademark of CME Group, Inc. The Globe logo is a trademark of Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc.

Scroll to Top

Privacy Policy

WorldCupChampionships.com (WCC) is committed to protecting your privacy. The information we collect from you comes primarily from requests for more information and includes contact information. It is necessary for us to obtain this information in order to fulfill requests for more information and to provide you with email notification services.  Although we provide secure areas on our site for you to enter your information, you may provide required information over the telephone or via email if you prefer. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to maintain the confidentiality of your information, and use reasonable security methods to protect the data that resides on our servers.

 

Access to information about you is provided only to entities affiliated with WorldCupChampionships.com and to those employees and authorized agents who need to know that information in order to provide requested products and services to you. We will not disclose your personal information to any other source, except when authorized by you or when we believe in good faith that we are required to do so by law or in order to protect our rights or property.

 

We may also disclose your personal information to third parties in the normal course of business, including but not limited to: (i) payment networks, and the members of such networks; (ii) electronic funds transfer networks; (iii) clearing and settlement banks; (iv) service companies that perform business operations for WCC, including but not limited to account statement preparation and mailing services; (v) courts, independent auditors, law enforcement agencies and other governmental authorities, regulatory bodies or agencies in response to subpoenas, to prevent fraud, during the course of an audit or examination or as required by law; and (vi) collection agencies, credit reporting agencies, business credit bureaus or other parties associated in collecting any debt owed to us.

 

Service companies also are prohibited from using personal information for any reason other than to provide the specific products or services intended. WCC reserves the right to transfer personal information in connection with the sale of all or part of its business or assets.

 

We use cookies (small data files containing information) to improve the functionality of our web site and enhance the member experience. The usage information we compile assists us in maintaining and improving our site.

 

WCC limits the collection of data to that which is necessary, and will only use personal data for the legitimate purpose for which the personal data is collected. Upon request, WCC will delete or transfer any personal data with consideration to regulatory restrictions and/or requirements imposed by the NFA (National Futures Association), CFTC (Commodity Futures Trading Commission), FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority) or other governing bodies and regulatory agencies.

 

All data processing is for a legitimate purpose. For regulatory purposes, WCC retains certain information pertaining to persons who access our system. WCC collects information in order to provide requested information about our services, which primarily includes only name, email address and telephone number. In certain cases we may collect other data used to send customized offers based on information you provide regarding your interests.

 

Periodically, we may invite you to participate in various promotions and offers offered by WorldCupChampionships.com or other sponsoring organizations. Your participation may require us to gather and share your personal information or may require you to provide personal information to the promotion sponsor. Participation in such programs will always be your choice.

 

We are not responsible for the privacy policies or the content of sites we link to and have no control over the use or protection of information provided by you or collected by those sites. Whenever you elect to link to another web site, you may be asked to provide registration or other personal information. Remember, the information you are providing is going to a third party, and you should familiarize yourself with the privacy policy provided by that third party.

 

DATA RETENTION

Information collected may be retained for a period of five (5) years or more, depending on whether the information is transactional, marketing related or falls under requirements set forth by regulatory or government bodies including, but not limited to, the NFA, CFTC, or FINRA.

 

ACCESS TO DATA

Designated personnel have access to personal data stored by WCC. Additionally relevant client designated administrators may be granted access to personal data pertaining to the client’s employees. In some cases third-party vendors of WCC  (such as IT consultants) may need to access this data, however in all cases they will be required to comply with internal WCC Information Security Policies and Procedures.  You have the right to receive from WCC confirmation on whether your personal data has been processed or whether WCC holds your personal data.  Upon request, WCC will provide you with the personal data that WCC has regarding you.

 

RIGHTS AND MODIFICATIONS

WCC respects your rights as a data subject.

 

Transparency, information, and answers to requests: WCC adheres to the principle of transparency in processing.  For any questions regarding this policy, you may contact us at  info@worldcupchampionships.com. We will respond without undue delay and in any case within one week upon receipt of the request.

 

Access: You have the right to receive from WCC confirmation on whether your personal data has been processed or whether WCC holds your personal data.  Upon request, WCC will provide you with the personal data that WCC has regarding you.

 

Rectification: You have the right to require the rectification of inaccurate data relating to you without undue delay, as well as incomplete data if necessary for processing.

 

Erasure: You have the right to ask for the erasure of personal data concerning you without undue delay.  WCC will not proceed with the erasure of personal data if the data must be maintained for a legal obligation or in cases where the processing is required for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.

 

Restriction of Processing: You have the right to request a restriction of processing if the accuracy of personal data is disputed, for that period of time that allows WCC to verify the accuracy of personal data or based on any other legitimate reason specified in applicable Data Protection Laws.

 

Data Portability: If technically feasible, you have the right to receive your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable fashion as well as the right to request the direct transmission of personal data by WCC to another party.

 

Right to Object: If you receive promotional emails, you can remove yourself from the recipient’s list by selecting the “unsubscribe” link within the email content.

 

Complaint to Supervisory Authority: You have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the country of your habitual residence, place of work or place of the alleged infringement if you consider that the processing of your personal data infringes Data Privacy Laws.

We may amend this privacy statement at any time, and will post the amended version on our website www.worldcupchampionships.com.

 

YOUR CONSENT

Your choice to use our website, enter our trading competitions, and/or to allow the downloading of cookies via your browser constitutes consent to this policy and consent to the use of your information as described.

 

GDPR COMPLIANCE

Our GDPR Compliance Statement is incorporated into this Privacy Policy.

Besides strengthening and standardizing user data privacy across the EU nations, GDPR imposes new or additional obligations on all organizations that handle EU citizens’ personal data, regardless of where the organizations themselves are located.

 

You have complete control over the emails you receive from us. WCC provides various notifications via email, including service-related communications, account-related notifications, informational messages, and other updates through a third-party provider. Subscribers may discontinue email communications by responding with “unsubscribe” in the subject line or clicking on the unsubscribe link in email communications.

 

It is your responsibility to maintain the accuracy and completeness of your account information.  You may also contact us at info@WorldCupChampionships.com or call us at 877-456-7111 to inquire about or update your account information.