Global Fundamental Analysis 06/07/2020

Australian Market

US Market

US financial markets were closed on Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

Commodities

On Thursday the Comex gold futures price rose by US$10.10 or 0.6% to US$1,790.00 an ounce. On Friday, spot gold was trading near US$1,775 an ounce in North American trade, littlechanged from the previous week. Over the week gold rose by
US$9.70 an ounce or 0.5%. Iron ore rose by US75 cents or 0.7% to US$101.20 a tonne. Over the week iron ore fell by US$3.15 a tonne or 3%

Oil Futures

The Brent crude oil price fell by 0.8% in quiet trade on Friday. Traders fretted that an increase in COVID-19 cases across the globe could reduce economic activity and therefore demand for oil. But traders still noted that economic data had improved, raising hopes for economic recovery. The Brent crude price fell by US34 cents or 0.8% to US$42.80 a barrel. On Thursday the US Nymex price gained US83 cents or 2.1% to US$40.65 a barrel. Over the week Brent crude rose by US$1.78 or 4.3%. Nymex crude rose by US$2.16 or 5.6%

Forex

Major currencies held in tight ranges against the US dollar in European and North American trade. The Euro held between US$1.1218 and US$1.1252 and was near US$1.1248 at the American close. The Aussie dollar held between US69.24 cents and US69.47 cents and was near US69.37 cents at the American close. The Japanese yen held between JPY107.44 per US dollar and JPY107.53 and was near JPY 107.50 at the American close.

European Markets

European sharemarkets fell on Friday as investors worried that a lift in US COVID-19 cases could soften the economic recovery. Miners, banks, auto stocks and personal & household goods makers led the declines. The pan-European STOXX 600 index fell 0.8% but was up 2% over the week. The German Dax index fell by 0.6% and the UK FTSE index was down 1.3%. In London trade, shares in Rio Tinto fell by 1.9% and shares in BHP fell by 1.6%.ax

Asian Markets