August 2022 in Figures
August 31, 2022
The month of August served as a reality check to July’s fantasy that decades’ high inflation around the world could be doused successfully, speedily, and lastingly with only modest shock to the real economy. As a result, sharp increases in most long-term interest rates, big drops in share prices, and commodity price declines were experienced this past month.
The only central banks with scheduled interest rate-setting meetings during August from our standard table below were the Bank of England and Bank of Japan. The Bank of Japan continues to be a prominent exception to the global trend in monetary policies. .In spite of political calls and market speculative forces, BOJ officials have dug in their heels not to conform to pattern of rate normalization elsewhere. The Bank of England’s 50-basis point rate hike was double the size of its four prior increases in 2022. The list of other central banks to also raise interest rates in August included those in Namibia, Peru, South Korea, Hungary, Brazil, Iceland, Mexico, Armenia, Serbia, Israel, Australia, India, Norway, the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand, Tajikistan, and Indonesia.
The DXY weighted dollar index ended the month not far from its two-decade high. Solid net dollar gains during the month were experienced against a broad range of other currencies.
| 10-Yr Yield | 07/29/22 | 08/31/22 | Aug Change |
| U.S. | 2.70% | 3.17% | +47 Basis Points |
| Germany | 0.81% | 1.54% | +83 |
| Japan | 0.17% | 0.21% | +4 |
| U.K. | 1.86% | 2.80% | +94 |
| Canada | 2.60% | 3.11% | +51 |
| Switzerland | 0.36% | 0.75% | +39 |
| CB Policy Rate | 07/29/22 | 08/31/22 | August Chg |
| Fed funds target | 2.25/2.50% | 2.25/2.50% | 0 Basis Pts |
| ECB deposit rate | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0 |
| BOJ policy rate | -0.10% | -0.10% | 0 |
| BOE Bank Rate | 1.25% | 1.75% | +50 |
| Swiss 3M Libor | -0.25% | -0.25% | 0 |
| FX | 07/29/22 | 08/31/22 | Aug Chg in $ |
| EUR/USD | 1.0226 | 1.0048 | +1.8% |
| USD/JPY | 133.26 | 138.90 | +4.2% |
| USD/CHF | 0.9513 | 0.9775 | +2.8% |
| GBP/USD | 1.2189 | 1.1617 | +4.9% |
| AUD/USD | 0.6994 | 0.6842 | +2.2% |
| NZD/USD | 0.6244 | 0.6118 | +2.1% |
| USD/CAD | 1.2794 | 1.3133 | +2.6% |
| USD/CNY | 6.7442 | 6.8904 | +2.2% |
| Equities | 07/29/22 | 08/31/22 | Aug Change |
| S&P 500 | 4130 | 3982 | -3.6% |
| Nasdaq | 12391 | 11816 | -4.6% |
| Djia | 32845 | 31511 | -4.1% |
| Dax | 13484 | 12835 | -4.8% |
| Nikkei | 27802 | 28092 | +1.0% |
| Ftse | 7423 | 7284 | -1.9% |
| Canada TSE | 19703 | 19377 | -1.7% |
| Swiss SMI | 11146 | 10855 | +0.5% |
| Commodities | 07/29/22 | 08/31/22 | Aug Change |
| Oil, $ per barrel | 98.62 | 89.07 | -9.7% |
| Gold, $ per ounce
Bitcoin |
1781.80
$24505 |
1721.40
$20174 |
-3.4%
-17.7% |
Copyright Larry Greenberg 2022. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
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