A 'wink and a nod'?/Shipping rates/Silver/ZIP on labor market/Important company comments

I felt that the Treasury auctions this week were uneventful and mixed which in a market that is now fearful of bad ones, that is ok. I do have to wonder though if the Fed's surprisingly bigger than expected tapering of QT to $25b from widespread market expectation of $30b was a wink and a nod from Jay Powell to Janet Yellen that we got you.

Nothing good will come of a ramp up in the tariff battle and I'll leave it at that. 

I mentioned on Wednesday what Maersk said that the Houthis are widening their region of attacks which is again disrupting container shipments. Well, the World Container Index saw the biggest one week rise since the spikes in January with the Shanghai to Rotterdam route up by $606 w/o/w to $3,709 and back to the highest level since late February. The Shanghai to LA trip was higher by $617 to just under $4,000 and that is the most since mid March. 

 Shanghai to Rotterdam

We remain long and bullish of silver, along with gold. Silver is a unique commodity with half the demand for it being industrial usage and the balance jewelry, tableware and a monetary metal like gold. I bring it up because number one, it is on the cusp of breaking out of a multi year range but also to highlight the growing demand for it from solar panel makers that was mentioned in the WSJ this week. The article said, "Demand for silver from the makers of solar PV panels, particularly in China, is forecast to increase by almost 170% by 2030 to roughly 273 million ounces - or about one-fifth of total silver demand - based on current trend projections, according to investment manager Sprott." This as "supply is flat to declining." Of course, they are talking their book so keep that in mind but the demand is big.  

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-global-solar-power-boom-is-driving-a-surge-in-silver-demand-4ac20435.