- The RBA kept the overnight cash rate steady at 2.50% during the February meeting. The rate was also left unchanged during the March sitting.
- Fixed income securities remained steady in February, with the Three Month Bank Bill Swap Rate unchanged at the price level of 2.58% while the 10 Year Australian Bond Rates rose by 0.02% to finish the month priced at 4.02%.
- Australian Shares had an overall positive month, with the All Ordinaries Price Index and the S&P/ASX 200 Price Index gaining 4.04% and 4.14%, respectively.
- Australian Listed Property followed the domestic equity market trend in February, with the S&P/ASX 300 Property Price Index rising by 3.25%.
- Many of the major global equities markets posted positive returns in February. Europe was the best performing region, with the STOXX 50 (EUR) Price Index and the FTSE 100 (UK) Price Index increasing by 4.81% and 4.60% respectively. However Japanese equities continued to slow over February, losing by -0.74%.
- Commodity prices had another positive month, with the US$ CRB Spot Commodity Price Index gaining 3.85%. Gold made further progress to recover some of last year’s losses, posting a gain of 6.58% in February. The US$ Oil Price increased by 5.40% over the month, to bring its one year price 9.03% higher.
- The AUD rose slightly over the month against most major currencies. In particular, it appreciated by 1.92% against the US Dollar, 0.15% versus the British Pound and 1.74% against the Japanese Yen. On the flipside, the AUD depreciated by -0.32% versus the Euro.
- US equity market volatility declined by -4.41% for the month, ending February priced at 14.00%, as measured by the S&P VIX Index.
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Source: Zenith Investment Partners
25th-March-2014 | 