Welcome to this week’s edition of The Weekly Call, your trusted source for high-quality commodity setups and trading strategies. Since October 2016, our approach has delivered an impressive 777% return, and we continue to share the insights and methodologies that drive these results with this post #503. This week, we’ll explore the latest market trends, actionable trade setups, and global economic factors influencing commodities like sugar, coffee, live cattle, and gold.
U.S. Markets (Friday, April 17 close)
S&P 500 (SPY): Closed near 7,126.06, up about 1.2% on the day and roughly 4.5% for the week.
Nasdaq Composite (QQQ): Around 24,468.48, up about 1.5% on Friday and roughly 6.8% for the week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA): Approximately 49,447.43, up about 1.8% on the day and about 3.2% for the week.
U.S. stocks finished the week with a strong relief rally as oil collapsed after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was open to commercial shipping again. Lower energy prices eased inflation fears and helped send the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh records.
Global Markets
FTSE 100 (UK): Closed near 10,667.63, firmer into the weekend as Europe responded positively to lower oil and easing shipping fears.
DAX (Germany): Finished around 24,702.24, rebounding sharply as energy pressure eased and broader European sentiment improved.
Nikkei 225 (Japan): Closed near 58,475.90, with Japan still benefiting from a broader relief move and supportive exporter conditions.
Shanghai Composite (China): Closed near 4,051.43, little changed and still constrained by softer domestic demand concerns.
Global markets improved as the energy shock cooled, but the move was uneven. Europe responded strongly to the reopening of Hormuz, while Asia stayed more mixed because local growth concerns in China still mattered.
Commodities Snapshot (Friday close)
Gold: Around $4,861/oz, still near record territory as investors kept a geopolitical hedge in place.
Silver: Near $81.71/oz, sharply higher and continuing to track gold’s safe-haven bid.
Copper: Copper held firm, with industrial metals staying volatile but resilient as growth fears eased somewhat.
Crude Oil (WTI): Closed near $82.59/barrel, down sharply on the day after the Strait reopening.
Natural Gas: Around $2.82/MMBtu, still relatively soft versus oil despite the geopolitical backdrop.
The big commodity story was oil breaking lower while gold and silver stayed elevated. That combination says the market is breathing easier on immediate supply disruption, but it is not fully relaxing about inflation or geopolitical risk.
Cryptocurrency Market (Friday, April 17 close)
Bitcoin (BTC): Around $75,200–$75,800, breaking higher as ceasefire optimism and stronger institutional demand improved sentiment.
Ethereum (ETH): Near $2,335–$2,345, rebounding with Bitcoin and showing better relative strength than the prior week.
Solana (SOL): Around $86–$88, recovering from earlier ecosystem-related pressure but still lagging BTC.
XRP (XRP): Near $1.43–$1.45, stronger on the week as the market stabilized.
BNB (BNB): Around $604–$610, holding up well among the large-cap altcoins.
Cardano (ADA): Near $0.25–$0.26, improving but still below earlier recovery highs.
Dogecoin (DOGE): Around $0.096–$0.097, firmer as retail sentiment improved modestly.
Crypto participated in the relief rally, but Bitcoin remained the clearest leader. The market responded well to lower oil, calmer geopolitical headlines, and a renewed sense that institutional buyers were back underneath the tape.
Key Market Drivers
- Hormuz reopening flipped the tone: The biggest driver of the week was the sharp unwind in oil after Iran said the Strait of Hormuz was open, removing some of the worst-case inflation and supply-shock fears.
- Stocks loved lower oil: The market read the oil collapse as immediate relief for inflation-sensitive sectors, which helped airlines, consumer names, and broader risk appetite.
- The Fed picture got a little easier: Falling oil revived hopes that rate-cut expectations may not need to be pushed back as far as feared during the height of the energy spike. This is an inference from the relief move across equities, bonds, and oil-sensitive sectors.
- Crypto benefited from the same shift: Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana all moved higher as the market rotated back toward risk.
This was one of those weeks where one macro variable—oil—drove almost everything else. When crude broke lower, stocks and crypto both immediately traded as though the worst part of the inflation scare had passed.
Emerging Crypto Projects & Ecosystem News
- Schwab’s direct crypto rollout is a major adoption story: Charles Schwab announced details for its phased launch of direct spot Bitcoin and Ether trading for retail clients. That matters because it expands mainstream brokerage distribution for crypto in a much more direct way.
- Coinbase’s trust-charter progress remains important: Coinbase’s conditional U.S. trust approval continues to stand out as a major institutional custody and infrastructure development.
- Franklin Templeton is still building: Its crypto expansion through 250 Digital reinforces that traditional asset managers are continuing to invest through volatility.
- Security remains a live issue: The fallout from large DeFi exploits is still hanging over parts of the market, especially Solana-linked DeFi. That is one reason BTC and ETH are still getting the benefit of the doubt while higher-beta ecosystems remain more selective.
- Infrastructure still leads speculation: The strongest themes remain tokenized assets, custody, AI-linked blockchain infrastructure, and institutional rails more than pure meme or retail speculation. That is an inference from where corporate activity, product launches, and capital attention have been concentrated.
Outlook for the Week Ahead
- Macro calendar: Markets will keep watching inflation interpretation, Fed language, and whether the geopolitical cooling actually holds.
- Equities: After a huge week, the key question is whether the market can build on the breakout or whether this becomes a short-term relief move that needs to consolidate.
- Crypto levels to watch:
BTC: Support around $74,000–$75,000, resistance around $76,500–$78,000.
ETH: Support around $2,300, resistance around $2,400–$2,500.
SOL: Support around $84–$85, resistance around $90–$95.
These remain tactical levels in a market that has improved materially, but still needs follow-through. - Strategy note: The tape improved materially, but it is still being driven by macro headlines. Stay selective, keep size under control, and look for confirmation rather than assuming one strong week means the risk backdrop is fully repaired.
As always, stay informed and adjust your strategies based on the evolving market conditions. All trades are posted on our Private Twitter Feed for subscribers and are included in the track record posted below under Completed Trades. I am currently trading 15 lots given the account balance and will adjust as necessary based on market developments.
Trading futures contracts and commodity options involves substantial risk of loss, and may not be appropriate for all investors. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Please see our Disclaimer for more information.
The trades below are discussed on the Daily Update: – Click Here for a FREE Trial
Sugar
Coffee
Live Cattle
Gold (GC)
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COMPLETED TRADES
Track Record of Completed Trades
The purpose of this blog is to demonstrate how to swing trade futures using our methodology to select high-quality setups and manage the trade with our risk management approach. This track record is based on entries and exits as posted in this blog. I am currently using 15 lots for the Striker trades which is based on this account being over $375,000. Each lot for auto trading at Striker requires $25,000 per lot. See the videos below for more information.
Track Record January 2022 thru December 2022 Click Here.
Track Record January 2021 thru December 2021 Click Here.
Track Record January 2020 thru December 2020 Click Here.
Track Record January 2019 thru December 2019 Click Here.
Track Record January 2018 thru December 2018 Click Here.
Track Record October 2016 – December 2017 Click Here.
*** Trading futures contracts and futures options involves substantial risk of loss, and may not be appropriate for all investors. By reading this web site, you acknowledge and accept that all trading decisions are your sole responsibility. Trading strategies referenced on this web site and associated documents and emails are only suggestions, no representation is being made that they will achieve profits or losses. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.. See our disclaimer here.
Completed trade in Cattle as of November 28th
We expect subscribers to have captured 60% of the swing in live cattle which is over $14,500 in profit using a margin of only $5,115. A great example of using leverage in futures.
Completed Trade in Coffee as of December 12th
The total swing was $37.00 and we expect subscribers to have captured 60% of a wing or $22 in coffee for a profit of over $25,500 using a margin of $8,850. A great example of using leverage in futures. See the video below for the review of the trade.
Completed Trade in Natural Gas as of January 2nd
We were stopped out of out last 1/3 position as weather-related news created a gap down on January 2nd and a possible flat with support at 3.196. This concludes our trade with natural gas; we exit with 550 ticks on 2/3s of a position with $8,500 in profit.
Completed Trade in Coffee as of January 19th
We exited the coffee trade on January 19th with $17 or over $15,000 in profit using a margin of $8,850. A great example of using leverage in futures.
Completed Trade in Gold as of February 8th
We exited the gold trade on February 8th with over $14,000 in profit. We entered on January 3rd and held the trade into the high window. We will re-enter gold in a few weeks after a backtest.
19th Apr 2026
