Weekly Market Recap – March 25, 2022
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has now become the largest European conflict in the last 75 years. On Wednesday, President Biden traveled to Brussels to attend the strategy summit with more than 30 NATO members. The alliance addressed several critical issues surrounding the crisis: increased refugee aid, new economic sanctions, deployment of additional forces to Eastern Europe, and preparedness for possible chemical, biological and nuclear threats from Russia.
Monthly economic statistics, compared with previous values were as follows: new home sales 772,000 vs. 788,000, durable goods orders -2.2% vs. +1.6%, and core capital goods orders -0.3% vs. +1.3%. Quarterly reporting of the current account deficit was -$218 billion for Q4 vs. -$220 billion in Q3. Regarding weekly stats, there were 187,000 initial jobless claims vs. 215,000 the prior week.
Stock indices rose as the DJIA ended the week at 34,861.24 (+0.3%), the S&P 500 finished at 4,543.06 (+1.8%), and the NASDAQ Composite closed at 14,169.30 (+2.0%). CBOE’s VIX retreated 12.8%, marking 20.81 at settlement. In currencies, the USD Index inched up 0.6%, ending at 98.79 on Friday. Commodities in the S&P GSCI futures portfolio advanced by 7.7%, pushing the index to 781.59 at the week’s end.
The six metal futures we track in this recap moved all over the map. The final prices and corresponding positive/negative movements were: gold at $1,954.20 (+1.3%), silver at $25.615 (+2.1%), platinum at $1,008.50 (-2.6%), palladium at $2,394.30 (-4.0%), copper at $4.6985 (-0.9%), and aluminum at $3,605.00 per metric ton (+6.6%).
In the energy markets we follow, most of the products surged all week. The only one in the red was ICE Dutch TTF gas, falling 3.6% to €101.269 per MwH. The closing levels and percentage increases of the five that soared were: WTI crude at $113.90 (+10.5%), Brent crude at $120.65 (+11.8%), heating at $4.1146 (+14.4%), RBOB gasoline at $3.4700 (+7.1%), and NYMEX natural gas shot up to $5.571 per MMBtu (+14.6%).
As for the agricultural commodities on our radar, it was nearly a clean sweep for the bulls, with all but one charging upward. The slider was live cattle, ending at 140.475 with a slight 0.02% loss for the week. Friday settlement results for the balance of the group were: soybeans at $17.10¼ (+2.5%), corn at $7.54 (+1.7%), wheat at $11.02¼ (+3.6%), coffee at $2.2185 (+0.8%), sugar at 19.61¢ (+3.6%), cocoa at $2,562 (+1.0%), cotton at 135.90¢ (+7.1%), and lean hogs at 107.475 (+8.1%).
Futures Referenced in Market Recap
| Exchange | Commodity | Contract Month |
|---|---|---|
| CME | Live Cattle | April |
| CME | Lean Hogs | April |
| CBT | Soybeans | May |
| CBT | Corn | May |
| CBT | Wheat | May |
| ICE | Coffee | May |
| ICE | Cocoa | May |
| ICE | Sugar | May |
| ICE | Cotton | May |
| ICE | Brent Crude | May |
| ICE | Dutch TTF Gas | April |
| NYMEX | WTI Crude | May |
| NYMEX | ULSD (Heating Oil) | April |
| NYMEX | RBOB (Gasoline) | April |
| NYMEX | Natural Gas | April |
| NYMEX | Platinum | April |
| NYMEX | Palladium | June |
| COMEX | Gold | April |
| COMEX | Silver | May |
| COMEX | Copper | May |
| LME | Aluminum | 3 Mo. Forward |
Current Standings
2022 World Cup Championship of Futures Trading®
| RANK | NAME | NET RETURN | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stefano Serafini | 129.8% | Italy |
| 2 | Marek Chrastina | 114.7% | Slovakia |
| 3 | Yugendar Rao Karnati | 113.9% | USA |
| 4 | Stefan Seibert | 90.2% | Germany |
| 5 | Frantz Gheller | 84.3% | Canada |
January 1, 2022 – March 25, 2022
2022 World Cup Championship of Forex Trading®
| RANK | NAME | NET RETURN | LOCATION |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Natalja Puskorjus | 69.5% | Latvia |
| 2 | Patrick Nill | 63.3% | Germany |
| 3 | Nicholas Ridley | 37.3% | UK |
| 4 | Hachiware System LLC | 26.4% | Japan |
| 5 | Chiewchan Bhahusajjaluck | 17% | Thailand |
January 1, 2022 – March 25, 2022
2021-2022 Global Cup Trading Championship
| RANK | NAME | NET RETURN | LOCATION | DIVISION |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Stufflebeam | 677.5% | USA | Futures |
| 2 | Marek Chrastina | 136.9% | Slovakia | Futures |
| 3 | Antonio Ferlito | 130.5% | Italy | Futures |
| 4 | Patrick Nill | 94.5% | Germany | Forex |
| 5 | Philipp Kozalla | 72.4% | Germany | Futures |
June 1, 2021 – March 25, 2022
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.
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