May 2020 in Review
May 30, 2020
With the central bank interest rates featured below already historically low, none as in April were lowered during May. Moreover the sharp declines of ten-year sovereign debt yields in April were partly reversed in several instances this past months.
The talk of plans around the world to begin loosening stay-at-home restrictions lifted equity markets sharply, producing similar advances in the U.S. Nasdaq, Japanese Nikkei, and German Dax and somewhat smaller but also similar advances in the Swiss, Canadian and British exchange indices. The restoration of investor hope regarding future growth also sapped the strength of safe-haven currencies like the dollar and yen.
The most dramatic market move of May involved the continuing revival in the price of oil. West Texas Intermediate oil, which briefly touched a low of -$40.32 on April 20th, advanced more than $16 or 88.4% between end-April and end-May. However, a not-so-shabby 3.1% climb in the price of gold underscored that market uncertainty remains highly elevated.
| 10-Yr Yield | 05/29/20 | 04/30/20 | Change in May |
| U.S. | 0.65% | 0.64% | +1 Basis Points |
| Germany | -0.45% | -0.59% | +14 |
| Japan | -0.01% | -0.05% | +4 |
| U.K. | 0.18% | 0.23% | -5 |
| Canada | 0.53% | 0.54% | -1 |
| Switzerland | -0.52% | -0.59% | +7 |
| CB Policy Rate | 05/29/20 | 04/30/20 | Change in May |
| Fed funds target | 0.00/0.25% | 0.00/0.25% | 0 Basis Points |
| ECB deposit rate | -0.50% | -0.50% | 0 |
| BOJ policy rate | -0.10% | -0.10% | 0 |
| BOE Bank Rate | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0 |
| Swiss 3M Libor | -1.25/-0.25% | -1.25/-0.25% | 0 |
| FX | 05/29/20 | 04/30/20 | Chg in Dollar |
| EUR/USD | 1.1100 | 1.0952 | -1.3% |
| USD/JPY | 107.81 | 107.20 | +0.6% |
| USD/CHF | 0.9617 | 0.9657 | -0.4% |
| GBP/USD | 1.2851 | 1.2591 | -2.0% |
| AUD/USD | 0.6665 | 0.6514 | -2.3% |
| NZD/USD | 0.6211 | 0.6129 | -1.3% |
| USD/CAD | 1.3769 | 1.3942 | -1.2% |
| USD/CNY | 7.1373 | 7.0632 | +1.0% |
| Equities | 05/29/20 | 04/30/20 | Change in May |
| S&P 500 | 3046 | 2912 | +4.6% |
| Nasdaq | 9490 | 8890 | +6.7% |
| Djia | 25383 | 24346 | +4.3% |
| Dax | 11587 | 10862 | +6.7% |
| Nikkei | 21878 | 20194 | +8.3% |
| Ftse | 6077 | 5901 | +3.0% |
| Canada TSE | 15187 | 14781 | +2.7% |
| Swiss SMI | 9831 | 9629 | +2.1% |
| Commodities | 05/29/20 | 04/30/20 | Change in May |
| Oil, $ per barrel | 35.49 | 18.84 | +88.4% |
| Gold, $ per ounce | 1736.90 | 1684.20 | +3.1% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2020. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: commodity price movements, equities, foreign exchange, sovereign debt yields
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