Central America is a tectonic traffic jam, where the Caribbean, Cocos, Nazca, South American, and North American plates jostle for space along convergent, divergent, and transform plate boundaries. Last week, the congestion turned deadly as two major earthquakes struck northern Venezuela.

The release of tectonic stress serves as a useful reminder that financial markets behave in much the same way. Long periods of accumulating pressure are often followed by abrupt adjustments. In the past few days, investors had another opportunity to witness that phenomenon firsthand.

In the Weekly Market Digest, tech selloffs spiked market volatility, but the US-Iran MOU to open the Strait of Hormuz dominated the news. Oil plunged, lowering inflation expectations and real rates, but the dollar held firm. Reduced geopolitical risk and a stronger dollar weighed on precious metals and ETFs despite falling rates. Industrial metals tracked oil lower, and resource ETFs mirrored broader equity declines. 

The Exploration Insights portfolio fell but outperformed resource ETF benchmarks. Strong performances from a trio of copper explorers in Peru and the Yukon mitigated the losses, though not enough to keep the portfolio positive for the week. My position in a former Top Pick will close upon the completion of the M&A transaction, while a grassroots explorer in the Yukon raises funds from a major investor. 

In The Rant, my recent tour of Perú, which included a conference and several site visits, confirms its place as a premier, well-endowed global supplier of metals with exports heavily supported by Chinese demand but not without risks (permitting, illegal mining), that a newly elected president will have to deal with.