Monthly Portfolio Review, February 2025
February began with pretty much every asset class rising, in some cases to record highs. But it ended on a very different note, with most markets hitting a wall. Gold, for instance, threatened $3,000/oz a couple of times but gave back over $100 in the final week.
Bitcoin entered the month near an all-time high and four weeks later was down 15%.
Tech stocks were near their all-time high on Feb 18, and 10% below that on the 28th.
And it wasn’t just asset prices. US 10-year interest rates fell from 4.60% on February 11 to 4.20% at month’s end.
The implication? An economic slowdown may be coming. For what that means, check out the Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow measure of first quarter growth, which fell from 2.2% to -1% in the space of a single week:
More ominous still, this broad-based slowdown occurred while inflationary expectations were spiking. Are we headed for stagflation?
See: Recession Watch: Should We Be Raising Cash?
Macro and Sector News
America’s appetite for gold is ‘sucking’ bullion out of other countries
About time… gold-backed ETF demand surges to a nearly five-year high
The Curious Case of Chinese Copper Consumption
Copper industry needs to invest $2.1 trillion over the next 25 years to meet demand
Barrick Gold signs agreement with Mali to end mining dispute
Swiss refinery, Argor-Heraeus, suspends orders for all 50-gram and 100-gram minted gold bars
Korean banks halt sales of silver bars amid soaring demand
BRICS banks bleeding gold bars: China and Russia face runaway gold demand
Treasury gold holdings worth closer to $800 billion, says Bleakly’s Peter Boockvar
The Silver Squeeze: Market Manipulation and the Coming Storm
Belgian government considers building new nuclear plants
Central banks’ insatiable appetite for gold is firmly entrenched
The small nuclear reactor revolution is underway
Just One Company Will Use 2.1 MILLION OUNCES of Silver THIS YEAR
Trump says interest rates should be lowered to go ‘hand in hand’ with his tariffs
Record Profit Margins Stand To Fuel Wave Of Gold Mining Sector M&A
US Housing Starts Plunged In January (Along With Homebuilder Confidence)
U.S. pending home sales index hits all-time low in January, gold trades down 1.43%
China’s holdings of US Treasuries falls to lowest level since 2009
Wyoming Enacts Law to Establish Strategic Gold Reserve