The post Commodities expert warns economic slowdown could hit markets in 2026 appeared on BitcoinEthereumNews.com.

Jeff Christian, managing partner of CPM Group and a veteran commodities analyst, is arguing that the U.S. economy is showing multiple signs of decline. Speaking in a February 5 interview with David Lin, Christian singled out the weakening labor market, persistent inflation pressure, and growing political uncertainty as setting the stage for heightened volatility across financial markets in 2026. The discussion also touched on the fact that declining interest rates typically support equities, but the analyst argued that this cycle is different. Specifically, he reasoned that when rate cuts are driven by slow growth, weak corporate earnings, and layoffs, their effect could ultimately damage stock prices, not lift them. “Lower stock market would be positive for lower interest rates, would be positive for the stock market, just on a pure valuation basis. But insofar as the interest rates are declining predicated on expectations of weaker economic activity and reduced earnings in some corporations and layoffs, there is a general feeling that we are headed toward recessionary, or at least very low, economic growth,” Christian said. What’s more, he noted that recent equity strength has been mostly concentrated in a few artificial intelligence (AI) and, interestingly, crypto stocks, both of which he described as increasingly unstable. Accordingly, as confidence in these sectors decreases, investors are bound to become more defensive. Safe haven assets will flourish According to Christian, rising economic and political anxieties are pushing individual investors and large institutions alike toward alternative assets, such as industrial and precious metals. With more than 20% of global financial assets still sitting in cash, the commodities expert said, a great flow of capital is searching for a place “to park” outside traditional stocks and bonds. “People, institutional investors to individual investors, are all looking for safe havens… Those safe havens are gold, silver,…

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Filed under: News - @ February 6, 2026 11:23 am