By: DailyForex
Last week saw the final trading session for the week, the month the quarter and the full year for December 2017. For ease of reading, the data will be broken down into two summaries:
In Europe over the course of the week, the FTSE was up on last week’s close by 1.3% at 7687.8, it made 5.3% on the month and 2.2% over Q4; the Dax ended at 12918, 1.2% down on last week’s close, it made 0.44% on the month, but fell by 0.29% over the quarter; the CAC was down by 0.97% to end the session at 5312.6, it was almost unchanged on the month at -0.08%, but fell by 0.88% in Q4
The Dow ended the week down by 0.14% to close at 24719, it made 2% in December and strengthened by 8.5% on Q4. The Nasdaq composite index was down by 0.81% over the course of the week at 6903.4, it made 0,82% in December and 4.8% in the quarter.
The Nikkei 225 ended the week’s trading down by 0.6% to end the session at 22765, it slipped by 0.24% on the month but climbed by 10% in Q4.
On the currency markets last week, the Euro enjoyed the best of the trading, but Sterling fared best over the quarter. The Dollar was weaker against Sterling last week closing at $1.3522 to the Pound, a fall of 1.1% on the week, it slipped by 0.09% in December and by 3.5% over Q4. The Greenback weakened against the Euro last week by 1.5% to close at $1.1202 to the Euro, slipping by 0.9% in December and by 3.5% in Q4. The Dollar weakened against the Japanese currency closing at 112.7 Yen to the Dollar, making a loss of 0.53% during the week, but it made 0.79% over the month and ended Q4 essentially unchanged.
The Euro was stronger against the Yen ending at 135.5, a gain of 1% over the course of the week, 1.7% in December and 2.5% in Q4. It made ground against Sterling last week rising by 0.45%, the close saw one £ buying €1.1249, making 0.81% on the month, but easing by 1% over the quarter.
The Euro now buys 1.1713 CHF, a loss of 0.07% on the week, but a gain of 0.78% in December and 2.1% in Q4.
On the commodities market, the price for Brent crude ended at $66.62 per barrel, a rise of 2.4% over the course of the week’s trading, a 4.5% rise in December and 20% over Q4. The value of gold rose last week closing at $1302.5 per ounce, a gain of 2.2% on the week, 1.8% in December and 2.4% in Q4