The financial markets did very well in August, driven by dovish comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell at Jackson Hole. Adding to investors’ confidence in the short-term were reassuring corporate earnings.
All of this led equity, bond and gold prices higher during the month. Globally, stock prices gained 2.5%. As interest rates declined (-13 bps to 4.23% for the US 10-year government bond, for example), global bond prices rose 1.5%.