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 #519. 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, July 31 Close)
S&P 500: Closed at 7,489.72, gaining approximately 0.7% Friday and 1.0% for the week.
Nasdaq Composite: Closed at 25,373.85, rising approximately 1.0% Friday and 1.6% for the week.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: Closed at 52,485.03, advancing approximately 0.5% Friday and 1.0% for the week.
U.S. markets ended a volatile week with broad gains as strong earnings from Amazon and Microsoft restored confidence in artificial-intelligence investment and cloud-computing growth.
Amazon rallied sharply after reporting stronger cloud revenue, expanding profitability, and better evidence that its AI investments are generating returns. Microsoft also delivered strong cloud growth and cash generation, helping technology and semiconductor shares recover from an earlier selloff.
Apple moved sharply lower after issuing cautious revenue guidance and warning that component constraints could limit future growth. The market increasingly distinguished between companies demonstrating measurable AI-related earnings and those relying primarily on future expectations.
Global Markets
FTSE 100 (United Kingdom): Closed at 10,868.05, declining approximately 0.3% Friday but completing its strongest month since February.
DAX (Germany): Closed near 25,629, finishing modestly higher for the week as earnings optimism offset geopolitical uncertainty.
Nikkei 225 (Japan): Closed at 64,362.02, surging approximately 4.0% Friday as semiconductor and technology shares rebounded.
Shanghai Composite (China): Closed at 3,832.30, gaining approximately 0.7% Friday after a volatile week for Chinese technology shares.
Global markets experienced significant volatility as investors reacted to semiconductor weakness, central-bank decisions, Middle East hostilities, and major U.S. technology earnings.
European markets remained comparatively resilient because of strength in energy companies, banks, and industrial businesses. Asian markets rebounded sharply Friday after strong U.S. cloud and AI earnings restored confidence in semiconductor demand.
Commodities Snapshot (Friday Close)
Gold: Approximately $4,050/oz, declining Friday as the U.S. dollar strengthened but finishing July with its strongest monthly performance since February.
Silver: Approximately $57.75–$58.00/oz, retreating late in the week following recent gains.
Copper: Approximately $6.44/lb, remaining close to record territory as electrification, grid investment, manufacturing demand, and data-center construction supported prices.
WTI Crude Oil: Settled at $84.67/barrel, gaining approximately 1.3% Friday and completing a monthly increase of approximately 21%.
Brent Crude Oil: Settled at $90.12/barrel, rising approximately 1.2% Friday and gaining approximately 24% during July.
Natural Gas: Approximately $2.75/MMBtu, remaining under pressure from strong production and adequate storage inventories.
Energy prices remained a significant source of inflation risk. Continued restrictions and uncertainty surrounding shipping through the Strait of Hormuz supported oil, while additional conflict affecting Red Sea routes added to global supply concerns.
Gold remained elevated because of geopolitical uncertainty, while copper continued benefiting from long-term demand related to power infrastructure, electrification, and artificial intelligence.
Cryptocurrency Market (Early Sunday, August 2)
Bitcoin (BTC): Approximately $63,070, holding near an important support area after trading mostly between $62,000 and $65,000.
Ethereum (ETH): Approximately $1,625, weakening sharply as investors reduced exposure to higher-risk digital assets.
Solana (SOL): Approximately $77.97, remaining under pressure but stabilizing above its recent low.
XRP: Approximately $1.059, consolidating near major technical support.
BNB: Approximately $582.81, continuing to show better relative strength than several other large-cap cryptocurrencies.
Cardano (ADA): Approximately $0.189, recovering during weekend trading but remaining highly volatile.
Dogecoin (DOGE): Approximately $0.0701, remaining weak as retail speculation and memecoin activity moderated.
Cryptocurrency markets continued to underperform U.S. equities. Bitcoin remained comparatively stable, but Ethereum and most major altcoins experienced heavier selling as elevated Treasury yields and limited institutional risk appetite reduced market liquidity.
Key Market Drivers
- Amazon strengthened the AI investment case. Strong Amazon Web Services growth and improved profitability suggested that large-scale investments in cloud and artificial-intelligence infrastructure are beginning to generate measurable returns.
- Microsoft delivered strong cloud results. The company’s earnings helped reverse concerns that AI capital spending was growing faster than related revenue and cash flow.
- Apple disappointed investors. Apple shares declined after management issued cautious guidance and warned that component constraints could affect future sales.
- The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady. Policymakers continued emphasizing inflation risk, reducing expectations for near-term monetary easing.
- Treasury yields moved higher. The 10-year Treasury yield approached 4.7%, increasing pressure on high-valuation growth companies and interest-rate-sensitive sectors.
- Oil prices increased inflation concerns. Strong monthly gains in crude oil raised the risk that energy costs could slow further progress on inflation.
- Semiconductor stocks experienced extreme volatility. Chip shares sold off sharply before rebounding as strong cloud earnings restored confidence in AI-related demand.
- Market leadership broadened. Energy, financials, software, cloud infrastructure, and selected industrial companies helped offset weakness in portions of the technology sector.
- Crypto market breadth remained weak. Bitcoin held support, but Ethereum and most altcoins failed to participate meaningfully in the equity-market rebound.
Emerging Crypto Projects & Ecosystem News
- Tokenized stock trading expanded rapidly. Trading activity in blockchain-based versions of public equities increased substantially during July as investors sought continuous trading and faster settlement.
- Stablecoin infrastructure continued advancing. Brale introduced a protocol designed to help companies and financial institutions create and scale customized stablecoins.
- Tether reported strong quarterly profitability. The company generated approximately $1.5 billion in quarterly operating profit and added gold and Bitcoin to its reserve portfolio, although its excess reserve buffer declined.
- Tokenized securities remained a major institutional theme. Banks and asset managers continued developing blockchain-based Treasury funds, private-credit products, equities, commodities, and money-market instruments.
- Stablecoin regulations became more flexible. Proposed changes involving reserves, custody, and compliance improved the outlook for banks and payment companies considering stablecoin products.
- Blockchain-based stock trading moved closer to adoption. Regulators and market participants continued considering frameworks that could allow tokenized shares to trade outside conventional exchange hours.
- Real-world asset platforms continued expanding. Private credit, government securities, commodities, real estate, and infrastructure projects remained among the fastest-growing institutional blockchain applications.
- AI and blockchain projects remained active. Development continued across decentralized computing, verifiable AI, privacy technology, prediction markets, and blockchain-based data infrastructure.
- Digital-asset security remained a concern. Recent wallet and custody incidents reinforced the importance of hardware security, diversified custody arrangements, and operational controls.
The strongest development themes continue to center on regulated stablecoins, tokenization, custody, payments, settlement, and real-world financial assets rather than speculative token issuance.
Outlook for the Week Ahead
- Employment data: Investors will examine the July employment report for evidence that the labor market is either slowing or continuing to create inflationary pressure.
- Corporate earnings: AMD, Eli Lilly, Datadog, SpaceX, and other major companies are scheduled to report results.
- Federal Reserve expectations: Treasury yields and the possibility of tighter monetary policy will remain important drivers of market valuations.
- Artificial intelligence: Investors will continue distinguishing between companies generating measurable returns from AI and those relying primarily on aggressive capital-spending plans.
- Energy markets: Shipping conditions through the Strait of Hormuz and Middle East military developments will remain central to oil and inflation expectations.
- Cryptocurrency: ETF flows, institutional demand, Treasury yields, stablecoin policy, and Bitcoin’s ability to hold major support will determine near-term direction.
Key Levels to Watch
S&P 500: Support 7,400 | Resistance 7,550
Nasdaq Composite: Support 25,000 | Resistance 25,600
Bitcoin: Support $62,000–$63,000 | Resistance $64,500–$66,000
Ethereum: Support $1,575–$1,600 | Resistance $1,700–$1,750
Solana: Support $74–$76 | Resistance $82–$85
WTI Crude Oil: Support $82 | Resistance $88–$90
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)
Come see what we are trading – Try our 30 day FREE trial – Click Here
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.
02nd Aug 2026
