29 March 2024
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Good morning, Australia

Craig James
31 August 2020

How’dy USA

In US economic data, personal income rose by 0.4% in July (survey: -0.2%). And personal spending rose by 1.9% in July (survey: +1.6%). The PCE core deflator lifted 0.3% to an annual growth rate of 1.3% (survey: 1.2%). The advance goods trade deficit widened from US$70.99 billion to US$79.32bn in July (survey: US$72bn deficit). The final reading for consumer sentiment in August rose from 72.5 to 74.1 (survey: 72.8). The MNI Chicago PMI fell from 51.9 to 51.2 in August (survey: 52.0).

US share markets rose on Friday with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq at record highs. The S&P 500 is on track to its best August gain in 34 years. Investor sentiment was supported by reports that President Trump was willing to sign the 1.3 billion coronavirus relief bill. The Dow Jones index rose by 162 points or 0.6%. The S&P500 index lifted 0.7%. And the Nasdaq index gained 70 points or 0.6%. Over the week the Dow rose 2.6%, the S&P 500 gained 3.3% and the Nasdaq rose 3.4%.

US longer-term treasury bond prices rose on Friday (yields lower) as investors rebalanced portfolios. US 2-year yields were steady near 0.133%. And US 10-year yields fell by 2 points to near 0.724%. For the week, US 2-year yields fell 1.5 points but US10-year yields rose by 6 points.

Bonjour Europe

European share markets fell on Friday with the pan-European STOXX 600 index down by 0.5%. The technology sector fell 0.8% and healthcare stocks fell 1.1%. But banks rose 1.7%. The German GfK consumer sentiment index fell from -0.2 to -1.8 heading into September. The German Dax fell by 0.5%. The UK FTSE index closed lower by 0.6%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto and BHP were both higher by 0.6%.

Hello World!

Major currencies were firmer against the US dollar in European and US trade. The Euro rose from lows near US$1.1860 to highs near US$1.1920 and was near US$1.1905 at the US close. The Aussie dollar rose from lows near US72.90 cents to highs near US73.66 cents and ended US trade at session highs. And the Japanese yen rose from near 106.33 yen per US dollar to JPY105.19 and was near JPY105.35 at the US close.

Global oil prices fell on Friday. Hurricane Laura passed through oil installations in Louisiana and Texas without causing widespread damage. But expectations for global oil demand remain bearish. The Brent crude price fell US4 cents or 0.1% to US$45.05 a barrel. And the US Nymex price lost US7 cents or 0.2% to US$42.97 a barrel. Over the week, Brent rose 1.6%; Nymex rose 1.5%

Base metal prices rose on Friday by up to 1.3% with zinc, nickel and aluminium leading the way. But lead fell 0.5%. For the week, nickel rose 4.7%, with other metals up 1.8-3%. But lead fell 0.5%.

The gold futures price rose by US$42.30 or 2.2% to US$1,974.90 an ounce. Spot gold was trading near US$1,964 an ounce at the US close. Over the week, gold rose by US$27.90 or 1.4%. Iron ore rose by US$2.05 or 1.7% to US$123.25 a tonne. For the week, iron ore fell by US$3.40 or 2.7%.

G’day Australia

In Australia, business indicators (company profits & inventories), private sector credit and inflation data are issued. China purchasing managers' surveys are scheduled. In the US, the Dallas Federal Reserve manufacturing index is released.

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