- the dollar continued to get sold
- But so do Gold & Silver… UGH!
Good Day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well, it wasn’t to be for the U.S. Baseball Team last night, as they lost to Venezuela 3-2… it was a quick game with very little hitting… A U.S. team comprised of some of the best hitters in baseball, couldn’t muster more than 2 runs… I had some problems with the manager Mark DeRosa’s lineup and starting pitcher, but that’s what’s great about baseball… Questions, Questions, Questions… The Allman Brothers greet me this morning with their great song: One Way Out…. It’s the live version from their historic concert at the Fillmore East….
Well, the selling of the dollar continued yesterday as the dollar is returning to its underlying trend once again,,, the BBDXY lost 2 index points on the day and closed the day at 1,208. The euro has been the main beneficiary of the dollar selling, as it is the offset currency to the dollar… The Chinese renminbi has returned to seeling its official rate lowered each day… It sure seems that no matter what the price of Oil does, the Russian ruble gets sold… I guess that’s what you get when you invade a country.. No wait, isn’t that what we, as a country, just did? So, the dollar should be getting sold regardless of whether the U.S. is in a war or not…
Gold tried and tried to gain a bid yesterday, ,but in the end, the love you take… No wait! I didn’t mean to quote a Beatles song, but I did… sorry about that! What I meant to say it in the end Gold lost $3 to close the day at 5,005… And Silver had the same fight on its hands as the day went on, and got sold by 67-cents to close the day at $79.17… This selling of Gold & Silver is beginning to form a rash on me…. I mean they don’t need to have explosive days upward, just steady upward movement that signifies the demand for the metals… I’m just saying…
There still are no tankers getting through the Strait of Hormuz and while that’s still not happening the price of Oil fades… yes, that’ right, a commodity that will be difficult to obtain going forward is seeling its price fade… Yesterday, the price of Oil had a $95 handle… I just think that this is a bargain basement price…
And the Fed Heads were in doing their “yield control” yesterday, as the 10-year saw its yield sag to 4.18%
Ai guess there are still some traders out there in hinterland that believe the FOMC will cut rates today… If they do, they ought to be taken out back and hanged! The PCE showed that inflation is still sticky and rising, and IF the Fed Heads really do look at the PCE for guidance, then there should be no question of a rate cut, but instead discussion of a rate hike!
In the overnight markets last night… The dollar was sold some more and starts today with the BBDXY at 1,206… Gold & Silver are seeing some selling to start the day with Gold down $39 and Silver down 17-cents to start our day. The price of Oil slipped again overnight and trades this morning with a $94 handle, while the 10-year remained trading with a 4.18% yield…
It will be interesting to hear what Fed/ Cabal/ Cartel chairman, Powell has to say, as this could be his last FOMC meeting to chair…. The next FOMC meeting is in May and Powell’s deal is up in May… The POTUS’ next chair choice is Keven Warsh…
I didn’t have any connection to the internet when I signed on this morning, so today’s Pfennig will be short-n-sweet…
The pain at the pump is what I’m calling the recent upswing in gas prices…. These increases will be the main deterrent of the FOMC to cutting interest rates, along with the already sticky inflation…
Here’s Reuter’s this morning with their take on the Pain at the pump: “Trump and congressional Republicans are betting the oil-price shock sparked by the Iran crisis will be too short-lived to hurt them politically in November, but traders and industry analysts see signs that US pump prices will stay painfully high long after any diplomatic breakthrough.”
Chuck again.. Shoot Rudy, even the IEA (international Energy ) recently warned of a “historic Oil Shock”… Uh-oh…
The U.S. Data Cupboard is dominated by the FOMC meeting this afternoon. But before that announcement on rates, we’ll see the Feb prints of PPI (wholesale inflation) and Factory Orders which have been very disappointing in its recent prints.
To recap… the dollar continues to get sold and rightly so, in my humble opinion! Gold & Silver can’t find a bid that lasts, as every time they start to rally, they run into to the short sellers… I was reading Ed Steer’s letter, once my internet connection was restored, and he’s wondering when the rinse, repeat cycle for the short sellers will end…. Hmmm….
For What It’s Worth… Well… I complained about the dollar getting bought recently, and now all seems to be back to order, but this article tells why the dollar was benefitting from all this rotten news and it can be found here: Dollar is benefiting from Iran conflict as investors worry about inflation – MarketWatch
Or, here’s your snippet: “One of the biggest beneficiaries of the Iran conflict has been the battered U.S. dollar, which traded near one of its strongest levels in months on Monday.
The Dollar Index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of six major peers, has jumped more than 2% in March. Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management in Bangkok, said the dollar index “is now pressing the top of a nine-month range.” Its strength appears to be spilling over into other markets, with some saying the dollar’s strength weighed on the price of gold.
Ordinarily, military conflicts trigger a flight into the safety of Treasurys and gold, but that’s not happening this time around because of a rising risk of inflation. It is precisely this risk that helped push Treasury yields higher before Monday’s session, taking the dollar along with them.
, Brent Crude a global benchmark for oil, above $100 a barrel. Worries about high inflation have triggered a notable selloff in U.S. government debt in March, leading to the biggest two-week jump in 10-year
Treasury yields in almost a year last Friday. Higher yields, combined with reduced market expectations for multiple rate cuts by the Federal Reserve this year, have helped cause the dollar to strengthen.
Risks to global energy markets from the war in the Middle East “are causing inflationary angst” that has pushed up Treasury yields in March, said strategist Will Compernolle at FHN Financial in Chicago.”
Chuck again… Yes, the snippet is all over the place, but you get the gist…
Market Prices 3/18/2026: American Style: A$ .7111, kiwi .5883, C$ .7303, euro 1.1539, sterling 1.3358, Swiss $1.2721, European Style: rand 16.6319, krone 9.5942, SEK 9.2943, forint 336.90, zloty 3.6929, koruna 21.1746, RUB 83.00, yen 158.95, sing 1.2756, HKD 7.8386, INR 92.63, China 6.8723, peso 17.60, BRL 5.4923, BBDXY 1,206, Dollar Index 99.57, Oil $94.60, 10-year 4.18%, Silver $.7966, Platinum $2,100.00, Palladium $1,574.00, Copper $5.75, and Gold…. $4,989
That’s it for today… We had a very safe and fun St. Patricks’ Day, going out to eat and drink some green beers early and coming back and watching the baseball game….I had on my green party shirt with a leprechaun on it that got lots of comments on throughout the day… I had to get a blood test yesterday, and now I’m waiting to see what’s going on…. My breathing is getting a bit better…. It’s so strange it’s the same type of problem I ended up in the hospital for last year.. It can’t be the same thing you think? Chicago takes us to the finish line this morning with their song (and my 2nd fave song from them) Beginnings… I hope you have a Wonderful Wednesday today, and Please Be Good To Yourself!
Chuck Butler