Weekly Market Recap – May 6, 2022
The Fed announced a 0.5% interest rate increase, the largest increase in the federal-funds benchmark since 2000, as the central bank continues efforts to combat inflation. The water level in Lake Mead, which provides water to the states of Arizona, California, and Nevada, has dropped to its lowest point in the man-made reservoir’s 86-year history, as western states succumb to a third consecutive year of extreme drought.
Monthly economic statistics, compared with prior months were: consumer credit $52 billion vs. $38 billion, new job openings 11.5 million vs. 11.3 million, job resignations 4.5 million vs. 4.4 million, factory orders +2.2% vs. +0.1%, construction spending +0.1% vs. +0.5%, nonfarm payrolls unchanged at 428,000 and the unemployment rate was also unchanged at 3.6%. Quarterly reports came in showing a drop in Q1 productivity of -7.5% vs. +6.3% in Q4. Initial jobless claims rose to 200,000 vs. 181,000 the previous week.
The week in stocks was marked by a huge whipsaw move; Thursday saw the largest daily decline of the year, following the biggest one-day gain in two years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 32,899.37 (-2.0%) the S&P 500 lost 0.2% to close at 4,123.34, and the NASDAQ Composite went out at 12,144.66 (-1.5%). CBOE’s VIX settled at 30.19 (-9.6%). In currencies, USD Index futures maintained the uptrend, closing the week at 103.694 (+0.7%). In the commodity sector, prices gained overall, as per S&P’s GSCI: that portfolio of futures rose to 769.37 (+1.8%).
All but one of the metal futures we track moved lower. Closing prices and weekly percentage movements were as follows: gold at $1,882.80 (-1.5%), silver at $22.367 (-3.1%), platinum at $956.00 (+1.7%), palladium at $2,023.20 (-12.3%), copper at $4.2670 (-3.2%) and aluminum at $2,842 (-6.9%).
On the energy charts, strength persisted in most of the products we report in this sector. For the week, the final numbers looked like this: NYMEX WTI at $109.77 per barrel (+4.9%), ICE Brent at $112.39 (+4.9%), heating oil at $3.9543 per gallon (-1.6%), RBOB gasoline at $3.7590 (+9.2%), NYMEX natural gas at $8.043 per MMBtu (+11.0%), and ICE Dutch gas at €101.708 per MWh (+2.3%).
In terms of directional movement, the nine agricultural futures we cover in our recap were mixed, with six decreasing and three increasing. The contracts that lost value were: soybeans at $16.22 (-3.7%), corn at $7.84¾ (-3.5%), coffee at $2.1045 (-5.4%), cocoa at $2,492 (-2.9%), cotton at 143.61¢ (-1.4%), and lean hogs at 104.100 (-2.1%). The gainers were: wheat at $11.08½ (+5.0%), sugar at 19.16¢ (+0.1%), and live cattle at 132.750 (+0.1%).
Futures Referenced in Market Recap
| Exchange | Commodity | Contract Month |
|---|---|---|
| CME | Live Cattle | June |
| CME | Lean Hogs | June |
| CBT | Soybeans | July |
| CBT | Corn | July |
| CBT | Wheat | July |
| ICE | Coffee | July |
| ICE | Cocoa | July |
| ICE | Sugar | May |
| ICE | Cotton | May |
| ICE | Brent Crude | July |
| ICE | Dutch TTF Gas | June |
| ICE | USD Index | June |
| NYMEX | WTI Crude | June |
| NYMEX | ULSD (Heating Oil) | June |
| NYMEX | RBOB (Gasoline) | June |
| NYMEX | Natural Gas | June |
| NYMEX | Platinum | July |
| NYMEX | Palladium | June |
| COMEX | Gold | June |
| COMEX | Silver | July |
| COMEX | Copper | July |
| LME | Aluminum | 3 Mo. Forward |
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