(13 March 2022)
Markets remain under pressure here as the war in Ukraine enters its
third week. The West's unprecedented level of sanctions have
economically isolated Russia from the rest of the world but have also
wreaked havoc in commodity markets. Wheat, oil, gold and numerous
other commodities have seen near-record price spikes as a result of the
twin disruptions of Putin's "special military operation" and the
subsequent sanctions.
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are ongoing, however, and there
have been signs of progress in recent days that a ceasefire and an
eventual settlement is still possible. News of the negotiations may
have been one reason why oil and gold retreated sharply from their
recent highs at the end of last week.
The planets this week are very much a mixed bag. Venus continues to
slowly separate from bearish Mars following its exact conjunction on
March 6. While the extended conjunction of Venus-Mars in late February
and early March was a key ingredient in the unraveling of the stock
market, there is not much evidence yet that the affliction has
lessened. With Venus still just one degree away from Mars, the
repairing of sentiment could be a protracted process.
Wednesday is the FOMC meeting in which the Fed is widely expected to raise rates by 25 basis points. Investors will focus on the press conference for clues about Powell's future plans, including the schedule for unwinding the Fed's balance sheet of $8 Trillion in QE assets. The planets don't look good. Mars casts its malefic 8th house aspect to the Moon in the afternoon. Venus is parallel bearish Saturn in declinations and the Mars-Neptune midpoint is conjunct the midpoint of Mercury and Saturn. While midpoints may be seen as secondary influences, this nonetheless damages the outlook.
The late week looks mixed but with some upside possible. Thursday's Moon-Jupiter opposition could be a plus, as is the Mercury-Venus-Chiron-Uranus alignment. But the evenly-spaced Saturn-Mars-Pluto conjunction in Capricorn is still worrisome. Friday's Mercury-Venus parallel in latitudes looks more bullish, however.
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