February in Figures
February 28, 2015
The short month of February lacked a consistent story to tie around different asset market classes. Share prices appreciated across the board, but the dollar underwent mixed and rather diverse changes ranging from a 3.8% rise against the Swiss franc to a similarly-sized depreciation versus the New Zealand dollar. U.S. and British long-term interest rates climbed sharply in contrast to sizable declines during January, while the movements of other sovereign debt yields shown below were considerably more constrained. Short-term interest rates stayed at very low levels (and negative in Switzerland’s case) but hardly changed on balance. Oil bounced around either side of the $50 per barrel level, opening and closing on the south side of that threshold and closing somewhat higher on net. More than half of the 8% advance in gold prices in January was shed in January. Typical of the helter-skelter tone of February, the greatest market fear of the month, Greece running out of bailout money, was avoided with a resolution that didn’t address the main issues and only kicked the can four months down the road.
| 10-Yr Yield | 01/30/15 | 02/27/15 | Chg vs End-Jan |
| U.S. | 1.64% | 2.00% | +36 Basis Points |
| Germany | 0.30% | 0.33% | +3 |
| Japan | 0.27% | 0.32% | +5 |
| U.K. | 1.33% | 1.79% | +46 |
| Canada | 1.35% | 1.36% | +1 |
| Switzerland | -0.11% | -0.02% | +9 |
| 3-month rates | Chg vs End-Jan | ||
| U.S. | 0.26% | 0.26% | 0 Basis Points |
| Euroland | 0.03% | 0.02% | -1 |
| Japan | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0 |
| U.K. | 0.56% | 0.56% | 0 |
| Swiss | -0.85% | -0.84% | +1 |
| FX | Pct Chg in USD | ||
| EUR/USD | 1.1300 | 1.1191 | +1.0% |
| USD/JPY | 117.41 | 119.64 | +1.9% |
| USD/CHF | 0.9183 | 0.9534 | +3.8% |
| GBP/USD | 1.5062 | 1.5438 | -2.4% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7785 | 0.7816 | -0.4% |
| NZD/USD | 0.7277 | 0.7565 | -3.8% |
| USD/CAD | 1.2710 | 1.2503 | -1.6% |
| USD/CNY | 6.2500 | 6.2589 | +0.1% |
| Equities | Chg vs End-Jan | ||
| S&P 500 | 1995 | 2105 | +5.5% |
| Nasdaq | 4635 | 4964 | +7.1% |
| Djia | 17165 | 18133 | +5.6% |
| Dax | 10694 | 11402 | +6.6% |
| Nikkei | 17674 | 18798 | +6.4% |
| Ftse | 6749 | 6947 | +2.9% |
| Canada TSE | 14673 | 15234 | +3.8% |
| Swiss SMI | 8385 | 9015 | +7.5% |
| Commodities | Chg vs End-Jan | ||
| Oil, $ per barrel | 48.24 | 49.76 | +3.2% |
| Gold, $ per ounce | 1278.30 | 1212.60 | -5.1% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2015. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: bonds, equities, foreign exchange, gold, Oil
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