FOREX July 5th: The Last Week’s Trading Activities In Perspective

By: Dr. Mike Campbell

Another turbulent week that saw further volatility in the markets, the usual worries about sovereign debt and European banks borrowing requirements has come to an end. All the world’s major stock markets closed significantly lower, compared to how they stood last week. In Europe over the course of last week, the FTSE shed 4.1%, closing at 4838.1; the Dax dropped by 3.9% ending the week at 5834.2; the CAC weakened by 4.9% to end the session at 3348.4.

The Dow ended the week down by 4.5%, finishing the trading session at 9686.5. The Nasdaq ended the week lower by 5.9%; closing at 2091.8.

The Nikkei closed down by 5.5% over the course of the week, ending trading at 9203.7.

On the currency markets last week, the Dollar was again the loser. The Dollar was lower against Sterling by 2.5% closing at 1.5206 to the Pound. The Greenback was weaker against the Euro dipping by 2.1%, to close at 1.2548. The Dollar was lower against the Japanese currency at 87.568 to the Yen, a fall of 2.1% on the week.

The Euro weakened a touch against the Yen closing at 109.88, shedding 0.1%. The Euro recovered against Sterling over the week by 0.19%. The close saw one £ buying 1.21183€. 

On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude fell sharply, closing at $71.7 per barrel (for August delivery); a slip of 8.3% over the course of the week’s trading. The value of gold weakened to 1199.7 per ounce, representing a fall of 3.6% over last week’s value.