By: Dr. Mike Campbell
Friday marked the last day’s trading in July. All of the markets ended the month higher than they were when it started. In Europe, the FTSE lost 1% last week but put on 8.7% over the month, closing at 5258; the CAC made 1 % last week, contributing to a gain of 8.8% over the month at 3643.1; the Dax ended the week down by 0.3% but put on 5.4% during the month at 6148.
In the USA, the Dow ended the month up by 8.1% and put on 0.4% last week it ended the trading session at 10466. The technology heavy Nasdaq lost 0.65% last week, but still grew by 7.8% in July, closing at 2254.7.
The Nikkei gave the poorest performance of all the major markets in July, but it still put on 3.6% during the month and rose by 1.1% last week to close at 9537.3.
Currency Markets
On the currency markets, the Dollar fell 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 86.44 to the Dollar, slipping by 0.88% over the week. Against the Euro it weakened by 3.8% over the month, closing at 1.3028 and shedding 1% of its value last week. The Greenback was weaker against the British Pound, dipping 2.6% in July to close at 1.5604 and losing 1.3% last week.
The Euro regained further ground against the Yen last month closing at 112.62, higher by 2.5%. Last week, the Euro regained just 0.12% of its value against the Yen. It was stronger against Sterling in July by 1.2% and it ended the week up by 0.3% against the Pound. The close saw one £ buying 1.1978€.
Commodities Market
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude oil was higher against last month’s mark closing at 78.18$ per barrel (for September delivery), the price of Brent crude rose by 9.1% during the month and ended last week up by 0.9% The value of gold has dipped, closing at 1168.6 $ per ounce and has shed 2.6% over the previous month’s close; most of the fall was sustained last week which saw gold close 2.3% lower.