Monthly Market Report for July 2017. Below are the key points for the month:

• The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 1.50% at the July meeting. The rate was also left unchanged at the August board meeting.
• In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate fell by -0.03% and the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate rose by 0.04%, in July.
• Spreads on Australian corporate debt fell in July, as indicated by the iTraxx Australian Index falling a significant -6.50 points to 77.25.
• Australian shares were roughly flat in July, with the All Ordinaries Index gaining 0.17%, and the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling by -0.02%, over the month. Domestic listed property under-performed the broader share market, falling by -0.20% over the month.
• Global equity markets mainly rose over the month, with the Hang Seng (Hong Kong) Index gaining 6.05% to be the best performer in July. Europe was the worst performing market in July, falling -0.40%.
• Gold, oil and iron ore prices rose by 2.04%, 6.59% and 14.96%, respectively, in July. The overall CRB Spot Commodity Index fell by -1.07% in US Dollar terms.
• The Australian Dollar rose against most major currencies in July, 3.84% against the US Dollar, 1.04% against the Euro, 2.86% against the British Pound and 2.44% against the Japanese Yen.
• The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) rose by 2.75% over the month, ending July at 67.30.

Share market volatility fell both domestically (-0.46%) and in the US (-0.92%).