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

• The RBA kept the overnight cash rate at 1.50% at the May board meeting. The rate was also left unchanged at the June board meeting.
• In fixed income, the 3 Month Bank Bill Swap Rate held steady at 1.72, and the 10 Year Australian Bond Rate fell by -0.19% to 2.39 in May.
• Spreads on Australian corporate debt rose in May, as indicated by the iTraxx Australian Index adding 3.81 points to 85.69.
• Australian shares retraced some of the recent gains, with the All Ordinaries Index and the S&P/ASX 200 Index falling -3.13% and -3.37%, respectively, in May. Domestic listed property outperformed the broader share market, despite falling by -1.00% over the month.
• Global equity markets rose over the month, with the FTSE 100 (UK) Index gaining 4.39% to be the best performer in May. The US was the worst performing market in May, gaining 0.33%.
• Oil and iron ore prices fell by -2.05% and -14.07%, respectively, in May. The overall CRB Spot Commodity Index rose by 2.28% in US Dollar terms.
• The Australian Dollar fell against most major currencies, -0.33% against the US Dollar, -3.07% against the Euro and -0.59% against the Japanese Yen. The Australian Dollar rose by 0.50% against the British Pound.
• The Australian Trade Weighted Index (TWI) fell by -1.09% over the month, ending May at 63.80.
• Share market volatility rose domestically (0.50%) and fell in the US (-0.41%).