Market Commentary - May
06 June 2018
This month has seen yet another High Street retailer note that they are finding the current climate difficult. Dixons Carphone have noted a 20% fall in profits and have announced that they will close 92 of their Carphone Warehouse stores as part of a cost cutting exercise. Despite the difficulty for retailers, the FTSE 100 rose 2.25% through May, even managing to reach a new closing high of 7,877.45 on 22 May. The index finished the month at 7,678.20.
As expected, the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee held the base rate of interest at 0.5% as inflation continues to ease from the early year high of 3%. April’s reading showed CPI has slipped to 2.4%.
Oil continued to climb despite the expectation that the OPEC cartel will look to increase production in June. Any increase in production looks increasingly unlikely given the US sanctions against Iran and falling output from Venezuela.
Gold fell 1.28% as inflation remains above expectations in the US.
| 31 May 2018 | 1 month | 6 months | 12 months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTSE 100 | 7,678.20 | 2.25% | 4.80% | 2.10% |
| GBP/USD | 1.3292 | -3.35% | -1.58% | 3.05% |
| GBP/EUR | 1.1385 | -0.04% | 0.35% | -0.83% |
| Brent Crude (US$) | 76.56 | 1.85% | 20.43% | 52.18% |
| Gold (US$ per oz) | 1,298.51 | -1.28% | 1.84% | 2.33% |
Sources:
Disclaimer:
Nothing in this communication constitutes advice to undertake a transaction and professional advice should be taken before investing. Any observations are purely commentary on markets. This material is not investment research and the content should not be treated as an offer or invitation to buy or sell securities. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results and is no guarantee. The value of investments may fall as well as rise. Changes in exchange rates between currencies can cause investments or income to go up or down.
