- The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 1.50% at its December meeting. As always, there was no board meeting in January.
- In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate rose by 0.03%, and the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate rose by 0.15%, respectively, in December.
- Spreads on Australian corporate debt fell in December, as indicated by the iTraxx Australian Index, falling a significant -6.70 points to 58.13.
- Australian shares performed well in December, with the All Ordinaries Index and the S&P/ASX 200 Index rising by 1.82% and 1.59%, respectively, over the month. Domestic listed property underperformed the broader share market, with a negative return of -1.39% over the month.
- Global equity markets performed well over the month, with the FTSE 100 (UK) Index gaining 4.93% to be the best performer in December. The Eurozone was the worst performing market in December, rising by only 0.64%.
- Gold and oil prices rose by 1.90% and 5.26%, respectively, in December. The iron ore price rose a significant 8.03% over the month. The overall CRB Spot Commodity Index rose by 0.64%, in US Dollar terms.
- The Australian Dollar rose 2.83% against the US Dollar, 2.13% against the Euro, 2.93% against the British Pound, and 3.50% against the Japanese Yen.
- The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) rose by 2.04% over the month, ending December at 64.90.
Monthly Market Report – December 2017
Posted on 09/01/2018
Monthly market report for December 2017. Below are the key points for the month: