December and 2020 in Figures
January 1, 2021
During 2020, the federal funds was slashed 150 basis points, the Bank of England base rate was cut 65 basis points, but benchmarks at the European Central Bank, Swiss National Bank and Bank of Japan were already very low and didn’t fall additionally. Sovereign debt yields in 2020 fell a whole lot more in the United States and Canada than in Europe or Japan, and that was a depressant on the dollar. A steep decline in equities during the first quarter of 2020 was more than reversed during the balance of the year except in Britain’s experience. The price of gold appreciated sharply, and that of oil rose, too. Downward momentum in the dollar and upward momentum in equities was maintained during December.
| 10-Yr Yield | 12/31/20 | Change in Dec | 2020 Change |
| U.S. | 0.91% | +7 Basis Points | -101 Basis Points |
| Germany | -0.58% | -1 | -39 |
| Japan | 0.01% | -1 | +4 |
| U.K. | 0.19% | -11 | -62 |
| Canada | 0.67% | 0 | -103 |
| Switzerland | -0.61% | -4 | -7 |
| CB Policy Rate | 12/31/20 | Change in Dec | 2020 Change |
| Fed funds target | 0.00/0.25% | 0 Basis Points | -150 bps |
| ECB deposit rate | -0.50% | 0 | 0 |
| BOJ policy rate | -0.10% | 0 | 0 |
| BOE Bank Rate | 0.75% | 0 | -65 |
| Swiss 3M Libor | -1.25/-0.25% | 0 | 0 |
| FX | 12/31/20 | Pct Chg in $ | Pct Chg in $ |
| EUR/USD | 1.2214 | -2.3% | -8.2% |
| USD/JPY | 103.26 | -1.0% | -5.0% |
| USD/CHF | 0.8851 | -2.6% | -8.5% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3670 | -2.5% | -3.1% |
| AUD/USD | 0.7708 | -4.7% | -9.0% |
| NZD/USD | 0.7196 | -2.5% | -6.5% |
| USD/CAD | 1.2735 | -2.1% | -1.9% |
| USD/CNY | 6.5326 | -0.7% | -6.2% |
| Equities | 12/31/20 | Change in Dec | 2020 Change |
| S&P 500 | 3756 | +3.7% | +16.4% |
| Nasdaq | 12888 | +5.6% | +43.6% |
| Djia | 30606 | +3.3% | +7.2% |
| Dax | 13719 | +3.2% | +3.5% |
| Nikkei | 27444 | +3.8% | +16.0% |
| Ftse | 6461 | +3.1% | -14.3% |
| Canada TSE | 17433 | +1.4% | +2.1% |
| Swiss SMI | 10704 | +2.2% | +0.8% |
| Commodities | 12/31/20 | Change in Dec | 2020 Change |
| Oil, $ per barrel | 48.52 | +7.0% | +6.6% |
| Gold, $ per ounce | 1282.60 | +6.6% | +47.6% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2021. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
Tags: central bank interest rates, equity prices, gold and oil prices, sovereign debt yields
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