February in Figures
February 28, 2018
February was unlike January. The dollar had declined across the board in the first month of 2018, but declined, except against the yen, during February. Likewise, share prices performed well in January but experienced a difficult February, including the biggest U.S. monthly drop in just over two years. Stocks were spooked by speculation that the Federal Reserve will sanction four interest rate increases this year. The ten-year Treasury yield increased another 15 basis points in the month. Three-month deposit rates increased nearly a quarter percentage point. Other economies’ 10-year sovereign debt yields fell paradoxically. So did the price of gold and oil, which in January had appreciated.
| 10-Yr Yield | 02/28/18 | 01/31/18 | Chg v End-Jan |
| U.S. | 2.87% | 2.72% | +15 Basis Points |
| Germany | 0.65% | 0.69% | -4 |
| Japan | 0.04% | 0.08% | -4 |
| U.K. | 1.50% | 1.51% | -1 |
| Canada | 2.23% | 2.29% | -6 |
| Switzerland | 0.04% | 0.05% | -1 |
| 3-month rates | 02/28/18 | 01/31/18 | Chg v End-Jan |
| U.S. | 2.01% | 1.77% | +24 Basis Points |
| Euroland | -0.38% | -0.38% | 0 |
| Japan | -0.06% | -0.04% | -2 |
| U.K. | 0.58% | 0.52% | +6 |
| Swiss | -0.74% | -0.75% | -1 |
| FX | 02/28/18 | 01/31/18 | Pct Chg in $ |
| EUR/USD | 1.2201 | 1.2414 | +1.7% |
| USD/JPY | 106.73 | 109.18 | -2.2% |
| USD/CHF | 0.9442 | 0.9310 | +1.4% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3768 | 1.4191 | +3.1% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7767 | 0.8058 | -3.1% |
| NZD/USD | 0.7210 | 0.7369 | +3.7% |
| USD/CAD | 1.2830 | 1.2301 | +2.2% |
| USD/CNY | 6.3310 | 6.2888 | -3.4% |
| Equities | 02/28/18 | 01/31/18 | Chg v End-Jan |
| S&P 500 | 2720 | 2825 | -3.7% |
| Nasdaq | 7273 | 7411 | -1.9% |
| Djia | 25028 | 26149 | -4.3% |
| Dax | 12436 | 13189 | -3.7% |
| Nikkei | 22068 | 23098 | -4.5% |
| Ftse | 7232 | 7534 | -4.0% |
| Canada TSE | 15500 | 15969 | -2.9% |
| Swiss SMI | 8906 | 9335 | -4.6% |
| Commodities | 02/28/18 | 01/31/18 | Chg v End-Jan |
| Oil, $ per barrel | 61.64 | 64.85 | -4.9% |
| Gold, $ per ounce | 1315.50 | 1348.00 | -2.4% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2018. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: bonds, commodities, foreign exchange, stocks
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