March and First Quarter in Figures
March 31, 2011
Long-term interest rates rose sharply in the first quarter. Except in Germany’s case, the bulk of the increase occurred in the first two months of the quarter. Short-term rates hardly changed in March. The dollar felll by varying amounts in the first quarter against the euro, Swiss franc, pound sterling, Aussie dollar, Canadian dollar and Chinese yuan and rose only against the currencies of earthquake-stricken Japan and New Zealand. Dollar advances in March were limited to the yen and sterling. Most equity markets fell in March, while performances for the whole quarter varied widely. The most notable feature of our table involved oil, which soared nearly 17% in the quarter, half of which occurred in March.
| 10-Yr Yield | 03/31/11 | Chg vs End-Feb | Chg vs End-Dec |
| U.S. | 3.46% | +4 Basis Points | +17 Basis Points |
| Germany | 2.35% | +18 | +39 |
| Japan | 1.26% | 0 | +14 |
| U.K. | 3.64% | +4 | +24 |
| Canada | 3.34% | +6 | +20 |
| Switzerland | 1.95% | +6 | +21 |
| 3-month euros | |||
| U.S. | 0.30% | -1 Basis Point | 0 Basis Points |
| Euroland | 0.95% | 0 | 0 |
| Japan | 0.20% | +1 | +1 |
| U.K. | 0.82% | +2 | +6 |
| Canada | 1.20% | -1 | -3 |
| Swiss | 0.18% | +1 | +1 |
| FX | Pct Chg in USD | Pct Chg in USD | |
| EUR/USD | 1.4159 | -2.5% | -5.5% |
| USD/JPY | 83.25 | +1.0% | +1.5% |
| USD/CHF | 0.9198 | -1.0% | -1.4% |
| GBP/USD | 1.6031 | +1.4% | -2.6% |
| AUD/USD | 1.0322 | -1.3% | -0.8% |
| NZD/USD | 0.7652 | -1.7% | +1.8% |
| USD/CAD | 0.9703 | -0.1% | -2.7% |
| USD/CNY | 6.5490 | -0.3% | -0.6% |
| Equities | Pct Change | Pct Change | |
| S&P 500 | 1326 | -0.1% | +5.4% |
| Nasdaq | 2781 | 0.0% | +3.3% |
| Djia | 12319 | +0.8% | +6.4% |
| Dax | 7141 | -1.8% | +3.3% |
| Nikkei | 9755 | -8.2% | -4.6% |
| Ftse | 5909 | -1.4% | -1.0% |
| Canada TSE | 14116 | -0.1% | +5.1% |
| Swiss SMI | 6358 | -3.8% | -1.2% |
| Commodities | Pct Change | Pct Change | |
| Oil, $ per brl | 106.72 | +8.0% | +16.8% |
| Gold, $ per oz | 1439.90 | +2.0% | +1.3% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2010. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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