It was overall a fairly dismal month for most assets as Deutsche's Jim Reid notes sentiment was weighed down by a) ongoing tapering fears, b) a further shakeup in EM assets and currencies, and later during the month c) the escalating tension in Syria. Clearly returns in fixed income and the broader emerging market space were tapered down further by tapering concerns but DM equities were also not immune to the softer risk backdrop. The biggest loser in August were EM bonds, followed by Wheat and the S&P 500. The biggest gainer in Auguest was Silver followed by Brent crude and Chinese stocks.
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YTD performance remains quite different but as Reid notes, Crude prices were well supported even before the tension in Syria escalated during the final week of August.
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"We’ve highlighted several times in the past how higher energy prices acts as a consumption tax so this is clearly a trend worth monitoring in the coming weeks."
Source: Deutsche Bank