By: Dr. Mike Campbell

Friday marked the last day’s trading in August and also the first anniversary of these articles. All of the markets ended the month lower than they were when it started. In Europe, the FTSE made 0.1% last week but fell by 2.5% over the month, closing at 5201.6, up 6% on the year; the CAC lost 0.5 %  last week, contributing to a fall of 5.6% over the month to stand at 3507.4, falling 5% on the year to September; the Dax ended the week down by 0.9%  and lost on 4.9% during the month to close at 5951.2, but it made 7.9% over the year.

In the USA, the Dow ended the month down by 4.7% losing 0.6% last week it ended the trading session at 10151, making 6.3% over the year. The technology heavy Nasdaq lost 1.2% last week, shrinking by 5.9% in August, closing at 2153.6; a gain of 6% over the year.

The Nikkei gave the poorest performance of all the major markets in August, falling by 6.8% during the month; it shed 2.1% last week to close at 8991.1 which represents a depreciation of 14.7% over the year.

Currency Markets

On the currency markets, the Dollar was mixed over the course of the last month against the other major currencies. It lost strength against the Yen, ending the month 1.3% lower at 84.75 to the Dollar, slipping by 0.75% over the week. Over the year it has lost 9.7% of its value against the Yen. Against the Euro it gained 3.5% over the month, closing at 1.2713 but was unchanged last week. In the past 12 months, it has appreciated by 11.5% against the Euro. The Greenback was stronger against the British Pound, gaining 2.4% in August to close at 1.5492 and making 0.17% last week. In the year to September, it has strengthened by 5.3%.

The Euro lost further ground against the Yen last month closing at 107.74, lower by 4.8%. Last week, the Euro fell by 0.74% of its value against the Yen. In the last year, the Euro has devalued by 20% against the Japanese currency. It was weaker against Sterling in August by 1.2% but ended the week up by 0.2% against the Pound. The close saw one £ buying 1.1219€. Over the year to September, the Euro has lost 7.1% of its value against Sterling.

Commodities Market

On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude oil was lower against last month’s mark closing at 76.65$ per barrel (for October delivery), the price of Brent crude fell by 4.4% during the month but ended last week up by 3.2% . Oil has risen by 5.3% in the year to September. The value of gold has risen, closing at 1240.8 $ per ounce gaining 4% over the previous month’s close with last week seeing the precious metal put on 1.1%. If you hold investments in gold, you’ll be pleased to learn that they are worth 30.9% more today than they were a year ago.